Mubasher: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had divergent views over what constitutes fair price, according to Reuters.

“Look at the price of a barrel, which Saudi Arabia uses to calculate its budget […] this is significantly higher than for us,” President Putin was quoted by the news agency.

Saudi Arabia would need oil prices ranging from $80 to $85 per barrel (pb) to keep its budget on even keel, Reuters said, citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official.

Russian budget implied an oil price of $40 pb, Putin said, adding that a price range from $60 to $65 pb is suitable for Moscow.

Despite differences with OPEC’s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia, Moscow will continue to cooperate with members on taking a joint decision to manage the market in the upcoming meeting.

Members of the producer club and their allied producers led by Russia are due to meet in Vienna in the end of this month or early next to decide on their production policy for the second half of this year, when their supply-cutting deal expires.

The so-known OPEC+ alliance agreed to trim output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), or over 1% of global output as from the start of this year, in a bid to prop up prices and mop up a market glut.

President Putin urged OPEC and allied producers to take into account the drop in production from Iran and Venezuela and disruptions in Libya and Nigeria.

By 11:40 am GMT, US Nymex crude futures rose by 1.39% to $53.32 pb, while international benchmark Brent futures jumped by 1.52% to $62.61 pb.