Kuwait's oil minister says premature to talk about exit strategy from supply cuts

DUBAI (Reuters) - Kuwait's oil minister said on Thursday it was too early to talk about a strategy to exit the current OPEC and non-OPEC supply cutting pact.

"It's premature to talk about exit strategy. Any exit strategy in the future will surely be implemented in a smooth manner that will not disrupt the stability of the market and it will be on a gradual basis," Bakheet al-Rashidi, Kuwait's newly appointed oil minister, said in a statement.

"The developments of market fundamentals will continue to be closely monitored by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), in which the State of Kuwait is a leading member, to ensure that the target of re-balancing the market and restoring its stability is achieved," he added.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers led by Russia agreed last month to extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018 to help lower global inventories and support prices.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Maha El Dahan; Editing by Mark Potter)