Saudi Arabia will back an extension of OPEC curbs in the second half of the year, the kingdom’s energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said Monday, according to news reports. When OPEC and its allies met in December, the coalition agreed to curb output by 1.2 million barrels a day. Oil prices surged following implementation of the agreement and posted their best first-quarter performance in decades. Since then, global trade disputes and Middle East tensions— including the attacks on two tankers carrying Saudi and Emirati cargo in the Gulf of Oman last week—have sent oil into a tailspin that is nearing a bear market. The U.S. blamed Iran for the most recent attacks , which came a month after the Trump administration accused Tehran of sabotaging two Saudi tankers in the vicinity of an Emirati port. Despite the heightened risks to oil supplies in the region, Saudi Arabia intends to push […]