Saudi Arabia cut its exports of crude oil for the upcoming month of November, while at the same time OPEC also announced that it sees the oil market finally approaching a balance, which led to an increase in oil prices.
In compliance with the OPEC agreement to reduce oil extraction in order to combat the existing oversupply of oil on the market, Saudi Arabia is cutting 500,000 bpd this November. This, as well as the recent statements from OPEC and Russia to continue this commitment into 2018 have helped boost oil, which reached $56 again.
In addition, the United States is also not pumping oil at full capacity, due to yet another hurricane.
The Brent crude is trading around $56.11, while American crude oil is at $49.87.
Overall, analysts seem increasingly convinced that the oil market is becoming more balanced. OPEC (and some non-members who export oil, such as Russia) have been very compliant and reducing production, and demand for the upcoming winter season is increasing, both helping to alleviate oversupply.