Proving pundits wrong and overcoming skepticism, two days of round-the-clock deliberations in Algiers brought about a landmark agreement in which the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to slash output. “OPEC made an exceptional decision today ... After two and a half years, OPEC reached consensus to manage the market,” said Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who had repeatedly clashed with Saudi Arabia during previous meetings. OPEC could announce an output-freeze deal on Wednesday in Algeria, although full details are unlikely to be firmed up before a formal meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in November, two OPEC sources said. Responding to the news, oil prices jumped more than five per cent to trade above $48 per barrel after the outcome of OPEC’s informal meeting in Algeria took traders by surprise. Many traders said they were impressed OPEC had managed to reach a compromise after years of wrangling but others said they wanted to see the details. Ministers from the oil cartel reached a preliminary deal Wednesday in Algeria to cut production for the first time since the global financial crisis eight years ago. 
• Nigeria, Iran, Libya may be allowed to produce at maximum levels

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) wednesday agreed to cut its oil output for the first time since 2008, with Saudi Arabia softening its stance on arch-rival Iran amid mounting pressure from low oil prices, reported AFP. That represents a strategy shift for Riyadh, which has said it would reduce output to ease a global glut only if every other OPEC and non-OPEC producer followed suit. The main concern ahead of the meeting centered on Iran, which has been resistant to cutting production, as it’s trying to restore its oil industry since emerging from international sanctions over its nuclear program earlier this year. The Saudi and Iranian economies depend heavily on oil, but in a post-sanctions environment, Iran is suffering less pressure from the halving in crude prices since 2014 and its economy could expand by almost four per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, faces a second year of budget deficits after a record gap of $98 billion last year, a stagnating economy and is being forced to cut the salaries of government employees.
Former Prime Minister of Iran and one of the founders of OPEC Jamshid Amouzegar, who was involved in the 1975 OPEC siege, dies at the age of 93.