Oil prices shot up on Friday after the stubborn holdout Iran...

Oil prices shot up on Friday after the stubborn holdout Iran agreed to have OPEC reduce oil production by a total of 800,000 bpd, while non-OPEC nations, led by Russia, are reportedly adding another 400,000 bpd of cuts, for a total of 1.2 million bpd OPEC+ production cut.

At 09:31 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was soaring 3.73% at $53.41, while Brent Crude was surging 4.15% at $62.55.

Iran was the last holdout in the talks within OPEC, which dragged on from Thursday after members failed to agree on the size of a cut and who would be exempt.

As talks resumed on Friday, Iran continued to refuse to accept wording that it would ‘cut’ and insisted on ‘exemption’, remaining the only sticking point in the OPEC negotiations, while the deal broker, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak, flew in from Moscow for the non-OPEC part meeting, and sat down for separate talks with each of oil ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, Bijan Zangeneh and Khalid al-Falih, respectively.

As the talks began on Friday, reports emerged that Russia may be ready to cut its oil production by 200,000 bpd as part of a deal with OPEC to reduce oil supply—a higher commitment than 150,000 bpd previously aired.