Remember last month when Trump groveled up to the Saudis in the middle of the uproar over the killing and dismemberment of the Jamal Khashoggi to thank them for lowering oil prices? Apparently, the Saudis don’t. They just agreed with the Russians to lower oil output, which should, and in fact has, raised the price of oil. To wit:
Crude prices soared on Monday as optimism ahead of an OPEC meeting grew after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman agreed to extend output cuts on the sidelines of the weekend G-20 meeting.
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West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery ... on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged $2.26, or 4.4%, to $53.20 a barrel. The contract rose about last 1% last week, but for the month of November tumbled 22%, the biggest monthly fall since October 2008, amid concerns about a global crude glut.
(snip)
Russia’s Putin made the announcement in a press conference late Saturday, after a meeting with Bin Salman, though he said there was no final decision on volumes. The comments come ahead of the Thursday-Friday OPEC meeting in Vienna, which will decide whether output cuts are needed. Oil prices have dropped by a third since early October.
Also, Canada, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, has cut production:
Another big boost for crude came after Sunday’s unprecedented announcement by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who said she has ordered oil companies in the Canadian province to cut production by nearly 9% next year.
That should piss off the best Dealmaker-in-Chief.