Oil prices were largely steady on Monday after falling 2 percent in the previous session, but remained under pressure amid weaker growth in major economies and concerns about oversupply. Brent crude oil futures were at $60.31 per barrel at 0722 GMT, up 3 cents, or 0.05 percent, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.27 per barrel, up 7 cents, or 0.14 percent. Persistent growth in US shale output continues to weigh on oil prices, while some analysts doubted that planned supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would be enough to rebalance markets. “I don’t believe OPEC cuts will work this time around with Qatar going out and Iran refusing to cut, while there’s a big question mark when Russia will go to its agreed level,” said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of oil consultancy Trifecta. “Meanwhile, US production will go on increasing. So the whole load will effectively be on Saudi Arabia, who is under severe pressure from Trump anyway.” OPEC and its Russia-led allies have agreed to curb output from January, in a move to be reviewed at a meeting in April. Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s de facto leader. Meanwhile, increasing concerns about weakening growth in major markets such as China and Europe also dampened the mood in oil and other asset classes. Published in Daily Times, December 18th 2018.