Mubasher: Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped in May, hitting its lowest level since five years.

OPEC crude output dropped by 236,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 29.87 million bpd last May, the producer club said in its closely watched monthly oil market report (OMR), citing independent sources.

The last time the 14-member group pumped below the 30-million-bpd level was in June 2014.

The decline in supply came as OPEC was weighing whether to roll over supply cuts it has implemented with other producers, including Russia.

The so-called OPEC+ alliance agreed on withholding 1.2 million bpd in oil output from the market.

Last month, Saudi Arabia saw its output falling by 76,000 bpd to 9.69 million bpd, as OPEC’s top exporter continued to voluntarily pump well below its quota of 10.31 million bpd.

In addition, oil supplies from Iran and Venezuela, both of which have been hit by US sanctions, dropped by 227,000 bpd and 35,000 bpd to 2.37 million bpd and 741,000 bpd, respectively.

Moreover, Nigeria slashed its production by 92,000 bpd to 1.73 million bpd.

The declines were partially offset by output surge in Iraq by 94,000 bpd and in Angola by 74,000 bpd.

By 12:26 am GMT, global benchmark Brent futures surged by 4.14% to $62.45 per barrel (pb), while US Nymex crude futures jumped by 4.05% to $53.21 pb.