Saudi Arabia will cut oil production by 1 million barrels a day to raise oil prices, the country announced after a meeting of the OPEC+ producer group in Vienna on Sunday.
The kingdom’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the de facto leader of OPEC, made the move as part of a deal that will see several African members cut their quotas from next year.
Oil prices have fallen over the past 10 months despite several attempts by producers to reduce stocks.
The kingdom and other members announced a surprise cut in April, but after briefly rising to $90 a barrel, prices reversed again, dropping to nearly $70 a barrel last week.
The 1 million b/d cut is initially for July, but could be extended, Prince Abdulaziz said. He described it as a “Saudi lollipop,” or sweetener, for the group, whose other members didn’t have to cut corners this year.
Here’s what else I’m keeping an eye on today:
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Economic data: China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US are today releasing their Caixin/Cips/S&P Global Final Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey.
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Apple: The technology company is hosting its Worldwide Developers Conference today from its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
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World Environment Day: Events will be organized around the world to raise awareness of global environmental issues today.
Five more top stories
1. China has warned Western armies to stay out of waters and airspace close to the border if they want to avoid dangerous confrontations with the People’s Liberation Army.
2. Turkey’s new finance minister has promised to return to a “rational” policy after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unconventional strategy put a great strain on the country’s economy and sent the lira to record lows.
3. Indian officials have blamed Saturday’s train crash on signal failure as the death toll approaches 300 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish those responsible.
4. AstraZeneca defies geopolitics to bet on China, with CEO Pascal Soriot calling the market “fully open” to pharma investments.
5. Hollywood studios have reached a preliminary contract with the union representing drivers, allaying fears of a shutdown.
The big lecture
Daniel Obajtek, right, with Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, in Warsaw. The oil chief has been mentioned in Polish media as a possible replacement for the prime minister © Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Reuters
Polish oil and gas company Orlen and its CEO are at the center of a debate over political influence over the economy. The rise of Orlen reflects Poland’s new status as a European bulwark against Russian influence and aggression. But as Poles prepare to vote in a hotly contested national election set to take place this fall, CEO Daniel Obajtek and the company have come to the center of a turbulent political debate in Poland over the state’s influence on the energy market. and the rest of the economy. . Is the Polish energy giant an instrument of the government?
We also read and listen to . . .
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AI Therapy: AI has clear potential to act as a “listening service” for people with mental illness. But uncontrolled AI “self-medication” can also be very dangerous, warns Lex, the FT’s leading investment column.
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FT Weekend Podcast 🎧: In this week’s episode, reporter Monica Mark tells host Lilah Raptopoulos about the brutal life of a South African copper thief.
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JPMorgan: JPMorgan’s Global China Summit was not a cause for overt celebration, but a very cautious one, as evidenced by the U.S. bank’s approach to its own event, writes Thomas Hale.
Chart of the day
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Japan is often in the spotlight because of its declining birth rate. But South Korea’s aging population will be an even greater economic burden by 2050, according to the UN’s World Population Prospects. South Korea’s dependency ratio — the number of people aged 65 and older as a percentage of the labor force — is projected to triple to 75 percent over the next three decades.
Take a break from the news
Chinese-American sci-fi writer Ted Chiang – whose novella Story of your life was adapted into the Hollywood movie Arrival – sits down with Madhumita Murgia for lunch with the FT to talk about the limits of AI, the use of science fiction and why “the machines we have now are not sentient”.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Vita Dadoo Lomeli
