On Sunday, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates led a coordinated reduction in daily oil production in a number of countries in the Middle East, in a move that was considered a "precautionary measure" to achieve "stability and balance" in the crude markets.

And Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Kuwait decided in a coordinated manner to reduce their daily production by a total of 772 thousand barrels per day, starting from next May until the end of this year, according to what was reported by the official news agencies in the three Gulf countries.

Iraq followed the example of the three countries minutes later, while Algeria announced a "voluntary" cut of 48,000 barrels per day in the same time frame.

The three countries stated that this reduction is in addition to the reduction announced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (OPEC Plus alliance) in October 2022, which requires a reduction of two million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

And the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted an official source in the Ministry of Energy as saying, “The Kingdom will implement a voluntary reduction in its crude oil production, amounting to 500,000 barrels per day, starting from May until the end of 2023.”

The official stated that the Saudi decision came "in coordination with a number of countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation, from OPEC members and from outside," considering that the step is "a precautionary measure aimed at supporting the stability of oil markets."

In turn, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) quoted Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, as saying, "The United Arab Emirates will voluntarily reduce its oil production by 144,000 barrels per day" in the same period.

He pointed out that the step is a "precautionary measure taken to achieve balance in the oil market."

For its part, Kuwait announced a "voluntary cut of 128,000 barrels per day."

In Moscow, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of energy, Alexander Novak, announced on Sunday that Russia will extend the reduction of its crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day until the end of 2023.

The cut, the largest since the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, comes despite concerns that it could lead to an increase in inflation and prompt central banks to raise interest rates further.