RIYADH: Gulf oil giants Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates led a coordinated cut in production by Middle East countries on Sunday, calling it a “precautionary measure” aimed at market stability.

Cuts by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait totalling 772,000 barrels per day (bpd) will take effect from May and last for the rest of the year, they said in statements released by official media.

Iraq followed suit while Algeria also announced a “voluntary” cut of 48,000 bpd over the same time-frame.

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A Saudi energy ministry official “emphasised that this is a precautionary measure aimed at supporting the stability of the oil market”, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The cuts are on top of oil cartel OPEC’s controversial decision in October to slash production by two million barrels per day, the report said.

That reduction, the biggest since the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, came despite concerns it could fuel further inflation and push central banks to hike interest rates even more.