Oil at $70/barrel for first time in 3 years as production cuts by Opec

Rising prices are putting US production on track to rival both Saudi Arabia and Russia, with output likely to exceed 10 million barrels a day as soon as next month

Oil topped $70 a barrel in London for the first time in three years, as production cuts by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and rising demand whittle away a global surplus.

Brent crude futures, used in the pricing of more than half the world’s oil, rose as much as 1.2 per cent to the highest since December 4, 2014. Prices rallied after the longest stretch of declines in US inventories during winter in a decade.

Oil’s rally shows that the Opec and its allies are succeeding in clearing the glut triggered by the growth of US shale oil. Prices have also