Oil prices surged on Monday, jolted by a surprise announcement by OPEC+ to cut production further in an effort to support market stability.

The price of Brent Crude oil jumped by more than $5 a barrel, or 7%, to above $85 as trading began, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by 7% to $80.94.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced production cuts of about 1.16 million barrels per day on Sunday. The group known as OPEC+ had been expected to maintain its earlier decision to cut output by 2 million bpd until December.

Source: Qatar News Agency