Saudi Arabia Seeks Oil Supply Cuts by OPEC

Leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia called for hefty supply curbs when the cartel meets this month to prevent a further slide in world oil prices. A Saudi official said that Riyadh believed the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries needs to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day to keep crude near $25 a barrel. Speaking after a weekend summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the official told Reuters: “The ministers of energy and petroleum of the GCC countries are clearly instructed by the heads of the states to do whatever is needed to achieve the targeted price of $25 for the OPEC basket.” Meanwhile, natural gas futures plummeted 14% on signs that Americans will get at least a temporary reprieve from the arctic cold that socked much of the nation in December and sent heating demand soaring. The decline was the biggest one-day drop in the 11 years that natural gas futures have been traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas for February delivery fell $1.41 to $8.36 per 1,000 cubic feet.