WTI crude futures rose toward $91 per barrel on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia warned that OPEC+ could reduce output to counter sharp declines in oil prices. Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg that extreme volatility and a lack of liquidity in the futures market do not reflect fundamentals that are still showing signs of physical tightness, dangling the threat of potential OPEC+ production cuts that could come at any time. WTI prices have also reversed a sharp drop on Monday when they touched an intraday low of $86.28 amid escalating fears of a global recession and a potential supply boost from Iran. Investors are bracing ahead of the annual Jackson Hole symposium later this week that is expected to reinforce the Federal Reserve’s strong commitment to fight inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes. Progress around reviving the 2015 nuclear accord also loomed large over the markets as a potential deal could boost Iranian oil exports by about 2.5 million bpd.
