Crude oil touched its 12-month highs as hopes for economic revival were boosted by output cuts from OPEC member countries, Reuters reported. The rally edged up to as high as $60 per barrel in European trading on Friday.

Saudi Arabia has officially declared plans to reduce pumping of crude oil by some one million barrels per day to support the level of international prices, AP reported. Thus Saudi companies will take extra burden amid on-going plans to boost OPEC output by 500,000.

Back in 1973, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) almost brought the US economy to collapse by imposing oil embargo as an answer to Washington’s support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Now the cartel turns 60 in not much different situation, but is more prone to do what the US actually wants, Reuters reported.

The OPEC oil cartel said Thursday that the world market for crude is undergoing an unprecedented jolt due to coronavirus mitigation measures that have decimated demand.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are close to a deal on oil output cuts to reduce a global glut, a top Russian oil negotiator said on Monday, but details such as how to share out production curbs remained unclear ahead of talks planned for later this week.

OPEC and key ally Russia on Friday in Vienna failed to agree on a cut to oil production that would have contained the plunge in the price of crude caused by the new coronavirus outbreak’s massive disruption to world business, news wires reported. The price of oil fell sharply in international markets as a result, with the international benchmark plunging 9.4%, down by a third since the start of the year.

Faced with slowing global economic growth and abundant reserves putting pressure on oil prices, the OPEC group and its partners could seek to deepen output cuts when they meet in Vienna on Thursday and Friday.

The global oil cartel, OPEC, and its allies are working toward a deal to further reduce oil output and raise prices, which has seriously fallen in the last week. According to sources close to the talks, the oil-producing nations eye cutting output by at least 1.3 million barrels per day, but need to convince Russia to join the measure.

Qatar announced Monday that it will the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on 1 January, 2019 after nearly 60 years of membership. The announcement was initially made in a series of tweets by country's state oil company, Qatar Petroleum, just days before a crucial meeting between the influential oil cartel and its allies. It also comes shortly after Qatar reviewed ways in which it could improve its global standing and plan its long-term strategy