Qatar invites all Opec members to April talks
Qatar has extended invitations to all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to join talks over freezing output at January levels.
The meeting, set for 17 April, will also be attended by non-Opec Russia, with other major producers also invited.
“The need has become an urgent matter to bring back balance to the market and recovery to the global economy,” Qatar’s ministry said in its invitation letter.
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So far 15 oil-producing countries have officially confirmed that they will attend the meeting in Doha.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Norway are the only countries to have yet to confirm their attendance.
Last week the price of US oil benchmark WTI and Brent crude climbed eight per cent over the week, with falling US stockpiles and weaker output helping sentiment.
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On Friday a barrel of brent crude was trading at $41.94, while US oil hit $39.72. Investors are concerned the talks could fall apart if Saudi Arabia and Iran cannot come to an agreement over supply.