OPEC announced it would extend cuts in oil output by nine months to March 2018 on Thursday, after November's landmark deal failed to clear a global supply overhang.

The move, which was then ratified by non-OPEC producers, was the base-case scenario for the market and means the 1.8 million barrel per day supply cut will roll over until the first-quarter of 2018.



In a press conference shortly after the announcement, Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia's energy and industry oil minister, said, "We considered various scenarios, from six (months) to nine to 12 and we even considered options for a higher cut... All indications are solid that a nine-month extension is the optimum and should bring us within the five-year average by the end of the year."

Oil prices extended earlier losses shortly after the announcement as traders reacted to the developments.