Oil steady as Russia holds out prospect of output cut extension

TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices held on to gains made
on the previous session on Friday, after Russian President
Vladimir Putin indicated he would be prepared to extend record
supply cuts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 was off 1 cent at $42.45 a barrel by
0040 GMT having risen 1.7% on Thursday, while U.S. oil CLc1
was 2 cents lower at $40.62, following a 1.5% gain in the
previous session. Both contracts are heading for their first
weekly loss in three.
Putin said on Thursday that Russia did not see a need for
major oil producers to alter a deal on cutting global supply,
but did not rule out extending oil cuts if market conditions
warranted.
His comments were the clearest indication so far from
Russia, one of the world's top oil producers, that it is
prepared to extend unprecedented curbs on output to meet the
demand slump caused by the pandemic. Russia has allied with the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporters (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia in making the cuts to
production that are due to be lifted at the end of year.
"Putin is reinforcing that Saudi/Russian unity is firmly
intact and that they will continue to keep the oil prices firm,"
said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
All the same, the spiralling numbers of new infections of
COVID-19 in Europe and the U.S. is likely to keep a lid on
prices, analysts say, with fresh coronavirus restrictions
suggesting more pressure on fuel demand.
Several U.S. states reported record daily increases in
infections on Thursday, further evidence that the pandemic is
accelerating as cooler weather takes hold in many parts of the
country. France extended curfews for about two-thirds of the
country's population, while Belgium's foreign minister was taken
into intensive care with COVID-19, as the second wave of the
pandemic swept across Europe.