Putin says Russia and Saudi Arabia will maintain oil cuts for 6-9 months

The current version of the deal by the so-called Opec+ coalition calls for production cuts of 1.2 million barrels a day

Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to extend the Opec+ agreement at current production levels for the rest of this year and potentially into early 2020.

Speaking at the Group of 20 summit in Japan, the Russian president said the extension of output cuts -- which expire at the end of June -- could be for six or nine months. His comments make the outcome of next week’s Opec+ gathering in Vienna all but a foregone conclusion, and further reinforce Putin’s role as the ultimate policy maker within the group.

Saudi oil officials later