MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2020) The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will convene on Tuesday to discuss compliance with the oil cuts agreement and the situation in the energy market as the oil prices have slightly gone up in light of a better-than-expected economic performance of China and Japan.
On Monday, the price of Brent's December futures increased by 1.7 percentage points, while WTI futures rose in price by almost 2 p.p as both China and Japan reported economic growth despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting of the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) would largely be devoted to oil cuts introduced back in April to stabilize the energy market. The nations are currently slashing 7.7 million barrels a day collectively until December 31. After that, the oil producers plan to ease the cuts to 5.8 mbd.
It is still unclear whether the OPEC+ will proceed with easing of the cuts or will retain the current quotas in light of the growing second wave of the pandemic. The final decision is expected to be made at the annual OPEC+ ministerial meeting, slated for December 1.
As for the OPEC+ compliance with the oil cuts last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has put it at 103 percent. But some participants in the oil cuts agreement still have to offset the shortcomings for the previous months.
Since the last JMMC meeting in October, Russia has appointed a new energy minister, Nikolay Shulginov, while his predecessor Alexander Novak was promoted to the deputy prime minister. However, a source has told Sputnik that Novak will continue to oversee OPEC+ issues in his new capacity and will take part in the Tuesday meeting.
