LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Friday after a U.S. official told Reuters an immediate Saudi oil output boost is not expected, while indications that the U.S. central bank could raise interest rates less aggressively than anticipated also supported crude.
Reversal in price trends, policy measures such as windfall tax by the government and fall in refining margins are among key downside risks
Exports fell slightly to 6.937 million bpd from 6.949 million bpd in November, according to monthly figures provided by Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting countries to JODI
Saudi Arabia's crown prince said the world's top oil exporter aims to reach "net zero" emissions of greenhouse gases
India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer that imports over 80% of its oil needs, is mirroring a model adopted by some other countries.
Domestic production of oil and gas has been lagging
Iran could quickly export millions of barrels of oil it is holding in storage if it reaches a deal with the United States on its nuclear programme
Brent crude futures were down 6 cents at $68.40 a barrel by 0039 GMT, having jumped 3% on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 8 cents to $65.97 a barrel
World's largest oil exporter plans to reverse recent unilateral production cut, signalling confidence in recovery
The imposition of the sanctions was part of a push by the Trump administration to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
The value of Saudi Arabia's June oil exports was down 55% year on year, a drop of $8.7 billion, official data showed on Wednesday.
September crude output fell by 660,000 bpd to 9.129 million bpd, figures from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed.
With China grabbing more Saudi crude, flows to India, Japan and South Korea also appear to have declined last month
The kingdom is preparing to amass support for a continuation of OPEC's official reduction target of a 1.2 million barrels a day in the second half of the year
By shifting the focus of Saudi export reductions toward the US, Riyadh hopes to show to the market it's making good on its promise to cut supplies