Riyadh’s drive to kill off US shale has failed but it will take real cuts and more global demand for oil to return to $100 a barrel
Saudi Arabia’s gamble has failed. That, rather than the spike in oil prices, is the real story to emerge from the agreement reached by Opec’s 12 members that they must agree to cut production.
Let’s be clear, a deal to actually restrict the flow of crude oil onto the global energy market has not yet been reached. Opec has said that something needs to be done, and has made a vague commitment to trim between 500,000 to 1m barrels a day from current output, but it has yet to flesh out the details.
Related: Oil price and stock markets rise as Opec cuts crude output