Oil prices have risen 2% after the Opec oil cartel and associate countries said they would delay an increase in output by a month, as they try to sustain prices despite relatively low demand.
The price of Brent crude oil futures, the North Sea benchmark, rose as high as $74.56, up more than a dollar as trading reopened after the weekend. The price of West Texas Intermediate, the North American counterpart, rose 2% to $70.88.
Oil prices have fallen during the second half of the year as some of the world’s largest economies have faltered, depressing demand. At the same time, while Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas has also spread to the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon, it has not so far threatened oil supplies directly. That has kept prices relatively low.
Some key members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) plus other large producers including Russia had planned to increase output, but on Sunday they said they would not go ahead with it.
Reuters reported: "The December hike was due to be 180,000 bpd, a small part of the total 5.86m barrels per day of output Opec+ is holding back, equal to about 5.7% of global demand. Opec+ agreed those cuts in separate steps since 2022 to support the market."
Ryanair profits dropped by 18% to €1.8bn in the six months to the end of September, as the no-frills airline was forced to drop fares.
Fares fell by 7% over the summer, Ryanair said on Monday, although it added that downward pressure on prices appeared to be “moderating”. The airline disappointed investors over the summer with a profit warning as it was forced to cut fares.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said the company had offered “more price stimulation than originally expected”, although that had resulted in improved market share.
Overall traffic rose by 9% in the six months compared with the same period last year.
O’Leary said: "Forward bookings suggest that third-quarter demand is strong and the decline in pricing appears to be moderating. We remain cautious on the third quarter’s average fare outlook, expecting them to be modestly lower than the third quarter prior year."
The airline also gave one of its regular digs at Boeing. The US planemaker, which supplies all Ryanair aircraft, has struggled with major delays, including an ongoing strike that has held back deliveries of its bestselling planes. Ryanair said that compensation for late deliveries did not make up for 5m in extra passengers it could have carried.
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