OPEC, Russia approve biggest ever oil cut

OPEC, Russia approve biggest ever oil cut

OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed on Sunday to cut oil output by a record amount - representing around 10% of global supply - to support oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic, and sources said effective cuts could amount to as much as 20%.

Gavino Garay has more.

OPEC, Russia and other oil producing nations agreed on Sunday to cut oil output by a record amount, representing around 10% of global supply, to support oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The group, known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day for May-June, after four days of marathon talks and following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to stop the price decline as measures to fight the virus have weakened demand.

Trump had threatened OPEC leader Saudi Arabia with oil tariffs and other measures if it did not fix the market's oversupply problem as low prices have put the U.S. oil industry, the world's largest, in severe distress.

OPEC+ has said it wanted producers outside the group, such as the United States, Canada, Brazil and Norway, to cut a further 5% or 5 million barrels per day.

Global oil demand is estimated to have fallen by a third as more than 3 billion people are locked down in their homes due to the coronavirus outbreak.