Opec and Russia decided against unleashing a flood of crude on to the market after Saudi Arabia urged fellow oil producers to “keep our powder dry” in the face of persistent uncertainty linked to the pandemic.
The careful approach to April production sent oil prices up more than 5 per cent, with Brent crude above $67.30 a barrel — near the highest level since January 2020, when coronavirus had only just begun spreading across the world.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the kingdom’s oil minister and son of King Salman, said on Thursday that while there was “no doubt” the market had improved since January, he wanted to “urge caution and vigilance”.