Secretary of State Blinken: US reviewing 'response options' on Saudi relations after OPEC+ cuts

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the United States is "reviewing a number of response options" with regard to its relationship with Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and other OPEC+ nations agreed this week to large cuts in oil production.

"As for the relationship (with Riyadh) going forward, we're reviewing a number of response options. We're consulting closely with Congress," Blinken said at a news conference in Lima alongside his Peruvian counterpart.

Reuters reports that ''Blinken did not specify what steps Washington was considering. President Joe Biden's administration has been mulling a response after the OPEC+ oil producers, which include Russia, agreed on Wednesday to slash production.''

Oil price update

Meanwhile, oil prices rose on Friday, continuing an upward trend after OPEC+ this week agreed to tighten global supply. The cartel agreed to a deal to cut production targets by 2 million barrels per day (bpd).

Brent crude futures rose 19 cents to $94.61 a barrel by 0002 GMT. WTI spot is trading at $88.50, down 0.5% in Asia on Friday.