Investing.com - Oil traders are likely to stay focused on global crude supplies in the week ahead, after members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to curb production starting in January.
OPEC announced Friday that it will reduce overall production among its members by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first six months of 2019 in an effort to stave off a global glut in supplies and prop up prices.
The producer club will curb output by 0.8 million bpd from October levels, while non-OPEC allies contribute an additional 0.4 million bpd of cuts, in a move to be reviewed at a meeting in April.
Oil futures jumped sharply on Friday in reaction to the new production cut agreement.
West Texas Intermediate crude surged $1.12, or roughly 2.2%, to close at $52.61 a barrel by close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
For the week, WTI rose about 3.3%.
Meanwhile, the global benchmark, Brent crude for February delivery on the ICE (NYSE:ICE) Futures Europe exchange, rallied $1.61, or almost 2.7%, to end at $61.67 a barrel.
It gained about 5% for the week.
Oil has taken a beating in recent weeks, with prices dropping more than 30% from their highs in early October, as swelling global inventories depressed sentiment.
Fresh weekly data on U.S. commercial crude inventories to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer and how fast output levels will continue to rise will also capture the market's attention.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last week that domestic crude supplies fell by 7.3 million barrels, the first decline in domestic crude supplies in 11 weeks.
Offering a hint on U.S. production activity, Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active domestic rigs drilling for oil fell by 10 to 877.
Market players will also focus on monthly reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) this week to assess global oil supply and demand levels.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of the main events likely to affect the oil market.
Tuesday, December 11
The American Petroleum Institute is to publish its weekly update on U.S. oil supplies.
Wednesday, December 12
OPEC will publish its monthly assessment of oil markets.
Later in the day, the U.S. EIA will release its weekly report on oil stockpiles.
Thursday, December 13
The International Energy Agency will release its monthly report on global oil supply and demand.
Friday, December 14
{{0|Baker Hughes}} will release weekly data on the U.S. oil rig count.