Oil prices stabilize after steep declines on Tuesday

Crude oil prices on Wednesday recovered from the sharp fall in the previous session, even as Saudi Arabia pledged to raise output to meet any shortfall caused by upcoming Iran sanctions.

A global stock market rout also weighed on oil prices Tuesday.

However, on Wednesday, looming Iran sanctions revived oversupply concerns, pulling up prices, according to media reports.

At 9AM Riyadh time, Brent crude futures were trading 0.40 percent up at $76.74 a barrel, while WTI futures were up 0.17 percent at $66.54 a barrel.

In the previous trading session, Brent crude closed down 4.3 percent at $76.44 and WTI dropped 4 percent at $66.43 a barrel.  

Yesterday, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said at the ongoing Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2018 in Riyadh that the country could raise oil output to stabilize market.

“We don’t rule out the Kingdom’s oil output will exceed the current level by 1-2 bpd going forward,” he said in a panel discussion, adding, “We’ll need to make judicious use of our spare capacities", he said.