World oil prices rising

The price of February futures for Brent crude oil rose by 0.15 percent and stood at $54.10 per barrel as of 02:00 EST, Dec.16. This is while the price of January futures for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil increased by 0.28 percent to $51.04 per barrel.

The higher prices came after Kuwait, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), notified customers that it would cut supplies from January as part of an effort by OPEC and other producers led by Russia.

Beyond the impact of cuts from OPEC, analysts emphasized that the willingness of non-OPEC producers to join the cutbacks was significant.