Saudi Arabia extends 1 mln bpd output cut to Sept
Output cut could be extended longer or deepened Riyadh
Russia to cut exports by 300,000 bpd in Sept

LONDON, Aug 7 Reuters Oil prices hovered near their highest levels since midApril after top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to extend supply cuts through September, further tightening supplies.

Prices have seen a sustained rally, with both key benchmarks notching up their sixth consecutive weekly gains last week.

On Monday, Brent crude futures slipped 24 cents to 86 a barrel by 0820 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at 82.55 a barrel, down 27 cents.

Despite the United States losing its top credit rating last week, the underlying global macroeconomic backdrop still appears upbeat, said PVM analyst Tamas Varga.

Stuttering global factory activity is being countered by revived service sectors, inflation is being mitigated, the job market in the U.S. is resilient, and peak interest rates in major economies might be close, he noted.

On the supply side, the world39;s top exporter Saudi Arabia on Thursday extended its voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels per day bpd to the end of September, keeping the door open for more.

In line with production cuts, Saudi Aramco raised on Saturday the official selling prices for most grades it sells to Asia for a third month in September.

Russia added to the crunch with its announcement to cut oil exports by 300,000 bpd in September.

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