OPEC slashed production in December, delivering a bullish signal to the market one month before the producer group officially began a fresh round of output cuts.
Oil supplies from OPEC nations plunged by 751,000 barrels per day to nearly 31.6 million bpd, according to independent figures cited by OPEC in its monthly report.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia was the driving force behind the headline decline. The kingdom's output plunged by 468,000 bpd to just over 10.5 million bpd last month, independent figures show. Data supplied by Riyadh show a 450,000 bpd drop to slightly more than 10.6 million bpd.
In Iran, production dropped by another 159,000 bpd to just under 2.8 million bpd, as the nation enters a second month under wide-ranging U.S. sanctions, CNBC reported.
OPEC's forecast for growth in oil supply and demand is largely unchanged from its last report. It sees worldwide consumption increasing by 1.29 million bpd to just over 100 million bpd. OPEC still sees 2019 supply growth at 2.1 million bpd.
