OPEC Extends Oil Output Cuts Through 2018

VIENNA (AP) — OPEC oil ministers and their non-OPEC partners have agreed to extend crude output cuts until the end of next year in efforts to keep supplies tight and bolster prices.

The move reflects the success of their strategy of pumping less oil for more dollars.

Benchmark crude prices are now close to $60 a barrel, up almost 20 percent since a year ago, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their non-OPEC partners agreed to reduce supply by a daily 1.8 million barrels.

Announcing the decision after meetings Thursday, Saudi Arabian oil minister Khalid Al-Falih, OPEC’s president, exclaimed, “it’s been a great day.”