NEW YORK, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices extended gains on Friday amid growing expectations that major producers would coordinate efforts to cut production.
The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose 3.02 U.S. dollars to settle at 28.34 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices for the front-month contract climbed about 31.8 percent for the week, according to FactSet data.
Brent crude for June delivery was up 4.17 dollars to close at 34.11 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is prepared to take part in deep cuts in oil production together with Saudi Arabia and other major producers to halt the slide in prices, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump made optimistic remarks, indicating that Saudi Arabia and Russia would reach a production cut agreement. Trump tweeted Thursday that he expects a cutback of "approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more."
Saudi Arabia on Thursday called for an urgent meeting for OPEC+ group and other countries, aiming at reaching a fair agreement to restore the desired balance of oil markets, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Last month, a failure to strike a deal on oil production cuts between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, had sent oil prices to a nosedive and sparked fears of a possible price war. Enditem
