White House pushes back on Saudi claim oil cut was 'purely economic'

A gas flame is seen in the desert near the Khurais oilfield, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 27 September 2016 [REUTERS/Ali Jarekji/File Photo]

The United States presented Saudi Arabia with an analysis showing there was no market basis to lower oil production before the OPEC+ decision to cut output, a White House spokesman said on Thursday, pushing back against Riyadh’s claims the output cut was “purely economic”, Reuters reports.

“The Saudi Foreign Ministry can try to spin or deflect, but the facts are simple,” White House spokesman, John Kirby, said in a statement in which he also said other nations in the oil cartel told the United States privately they “felt coerced to support Saudi’s direction”.

Read: Saudi says OPEC+ decision purely economic

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