President Trump’s attempts to restrain oil prices via Twitter have a reduced impact as Saudi Arabia says it will continue output cutbacks aimed at raising the price on global indices..
The President has used his Twitter account successfully in the past year to blast OPEC and Saudi Arabia while the price of crude rebounded from 2016 lows. But while his latest Tweet on oil markets sent the price down roughly 3%, prices have since rebounded on comments from Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Khalid al-Falih, who said that the cuts were not going to be scaled back.
Prices have rebounded since President Trump’s Tweet on February 25.
“Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike – fragile!” the President Tweeted on Monday.
In reply, Al-Falih said Wednesday he is leaning towards extending oil production cuts in the second half of 2019, despite the demands from President Trump.
“We are taking it easy,” Al-Falih told CNBC’s Dan Murphy while at an OPEC symposium in Riyadh, when asked about the U.S. president’s tweet. “The 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach. Just as the second half last year proved, we are interested in market stability first and foremost,” CNBC reports.
President Trump is keen to keep oil prices lower as he eyes a 2020 re-election bid. Brent crude has climbed roughly 20% since the start of the year, after having fallen 40% throughout the fourth quarter of last year the WSJ notes.
