Saudi Arabia’s conventional approach to market management is no longer working: crude has fallen back below $50 a barrel, US shale oil output is again on the rise and Saudi-led Opec, if anything, is worse off than when it agreed the supply deal back in November, having cut volumes for little upside on price.

The resurgence of the US shale industry after the oil slump of 2014 was a key factor in how crude prices fell sharply last week, to back below $50 per barrel. The market is concerned about whether efforts by Opec, the producers’ cartel, to tackle a supply glut by curbing output will be undermined by reinvigorated US shale companies.

Нефть марки Brent растет на 0,9 процента с начала дня до $48,80, а ранее она падала на $46,64 впервые с 30 ноября 2016 года. Коррекция подпитывается надеждами на продление до конца года пакта ОПЕК+ по итогам заседания картеля 25 мая.

"The good news is that the market is moving towards rebalancing," Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at the International Oil Summit in Paris last week. "There has also been a rapid drawdown of floating storage in the first quarter of this year. This is being driven by improving fundamentals and the OPEC deal."

OPEC's largest producer Saudi Arabia averaged 9.97 million b/d in April, according to the survey, below its quota under the deal of 10.058 million b/d.

In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3/4 to 1 percent. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting some further strengthening in labor market conditions and a sustained return to 2 percent inflation.

One of the highest priorities in Russia's gas export and marketing strategy is establishing its own southern corridor for gas exports to Europe, in competition with the EU-backed project.

Nigeria’s oil production level has recovered to 2 million bopd, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru said late on Tuesday.

Statoil reports adjusted earnings of USD 3.3 billion and an IFRS net operating income of USD 4.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017. The IFRS net income was USD 1.1 billion.

Compared with the first quarter 2016, CCS earnings attributable to shareholders excluding identified items increased by $2.2 billion, mainly driven by higher contributions from Upstream and Chemicals, partly offset by higher net interest expense.