Trump thanks Russia for stabilizing oil

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed gratitude to Russia, Saudi Arabia and Mexico for the OPEC + agreement to cut oil output, concluded in April.

"When oil crashed, I got Saudi Arabia, Russia, and others to cut nearly 10 million barrels a day, and got OPEC Plus and Mexico to agree to the deal. And hence, we’re okay now," he said.

"And I want to thank, frankly, Saudi Arabia. I want to thank Russia. I want to thank Mexico. And I want to thank OPEC+," Trump stressed at the meeting in Texas.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed to lower their current crude oil production cut level to 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) starting from August, from the existing 9.7 million bpd.

The 9.7 million bpd cut has begun on May 1 and will extend through the end of June. The cuts will then taper to 7.7 million bpd from July through the end of 2020, and 5.8 million bpd from January 2021 through April 2022. 

All members would reduce output by 23%, with Saudi Arabia and Russia each cutting 2.5 million bpd and Iraq cutting over 1 million bpd.