Mubasher: Oil production from the 15-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell in November, as shortage in Iranian output offset surge in supplies from Saudi Arabia to an all-time peak.

OPEC’s output dipped by around 11,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 32.965 million bpd, according to the producer group’s latest monthly report, citing independent sources.

Production from Saudi Arabia climbed 377,000 bpd to more than 11 million bpd, while figures provided directly by Riyadh showed a total of around 11.1 million bpd.

Saudi output is set to drop to about 10.2 million bpd next January, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said.

On the other hand, the increase from Saudi Arabia was offset by a 380,000 bpd drop in Iranian supplies, as the oil-rich country struggles with US sanctions in place since 5 November.

The UAE pumped 71,000 bpd to 3.24 million bpd, while Kuwait raised production by 45,000 to 2.8 million bpd.

However, those increases were wiped out by declines in Iraq by 23,000 bpd, Gabon and Libya both by 11,000 bpd, Nigeria by 30,000 bpd and Venezuela by 52,000 bpd.

OPEC’s monthly report came days after the producer group agreed with ten allied producers, including Russia to reduce market supplies by 1.2 million bpd, starting from next year, with OPEC alone cutting 800,000 bpd.

The agreement came following a plunge in oil prices since early October, partially due to forecasts that oil market would be oversupplied next year.

A slowdown in economic growth and financial strain in major oil-importing countries raised concerns about fuel demand next year.

“Rising trade tensions, monetary tightening and geopolitical challenges are among the issues that skew economic risks even further to the downside in 2019,” OPEC warned.

By 1:06 pm GMT, US Nymex crude futures climbed 1.88% to $52.62 per barrel (pb), while international benchmark Brent futures rose 1.68% to $61.21 pb.