Putin says Russia will cut oil output, cooperate with OPEC as planned

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will cut crude oil output and will cooperate with OPEC to support global oil prices, President Vladimir Putin said at his end-of-year news conference on Friday. Putin said he hoped oil prices would stabilise at current levels, above the average oil price of $40 per barrel factored into Russia's budget. Putin said the country's oil-dependent budget would receive an extra 1.75 trillion roubles (23.38 billion pounds) next year if oil prices averaged $50 per barrel. ...