(Reuters) -Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals has initiated international arbitration over a contested contract related to its flagship Cobre Panama mine.

The contract, called unconstitutional by Panama’s Supreme Court, was agreed between the company and the country’s government in October, giving First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama.

Cobre Panama accounts for about 1% of global copper production and contributes to about 5% of Panama’s gross domestic product.

Here’s a look at the events since December last year as the ruling puts the company on the long and unpredictable road of international arbitration:

2022

Dec. 15: Panama orders First Quantum to pause operations at Cobre Panama after missing a deadline to finalize a deal that would have increased payments to the government.

Dec. 24: First Quantum starts arbitration process against Panama.

2023

Feb 23: First Quantum suspends ore processing at the mine.

March 8: Panama and First Quantum agree on the final text for a contract to operate the mine.

March 15: First Quantum resumes operations at Cobre Panama.

Sept. 9: First Quantum reaches a deal over wages with the workers union at Cobre Panama.

Oct. 3: Panama’s government authorizes the withdrawal of the proposed contract to regulate operations of First Quantum’s local unit.

Oct 10: Panama’s cabinet approves a modified version of the government’s contract.

Oct 20: Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo gives final approval of a law authorizing a new long-term contract for the mine.

Oct 24: Police arrest nearly 50 protesters in confrontations over the new contract.

Oct 27: Cortizo says the country will reject all new mining projects after widespread protests against the deal.

Oct 29: Cortizo says Panama will hold a referendum to decide whether to scrap the contract with the Canadian miner.

Oct 30: Panama’s electoral court says currently there are not “conditions” to hold a referendum on the disputed mining contract.

Nov 2: Panama’s lawmakers scratch provisions to cancel the contract with First Quantum from a proposed bill banning new mining concessions in the country.

Nov. 7: Two people taking part in an anti-government protest in Panama are shot dead by an assailant.

Nov. 13: First Quantum says reduced ore processing at mine as protesters block access to ports.

Nov. 16: The company and workers at the mine reach an agreement guaranteeing salaries as protests continue.

Nov. 24: Panama’s top court starts deliberations to rule on several constitutional challenges to the contract.

Nov. 27: The company says it hopes to avoid arbitration with Panama’s government by resolving disagreements during a 90-day period for talks.

Nov. 28: Panama Supreme Court rules First Quantum’s contract to operate the copper mine as “unconstitutional”. Cortizo government to proceed with the shutdown of the mine. First Quantum says it is suspending commercial production at the mine amid protests.

Nov. 29: First Quantum announces the suspension of contracts of 7,000 employees at its Panama mine due to what it described as force majeure.

Nov. 30: Panama’s trade minister Federico Alfaro resigns days after the Supreme Court ruling. First Quantum CEO Tristan Pascall arrives in Panama, in a first visit to the country since protests began.

Dec. 1: First Quantum suspends its 2023 production outlook for Panama mine and says it initiated international arbitration over the contract with Panama’s government on Nov. 29.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose, Roshia Sabu and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Arun Koyyur and Devika Syamnath)

(Reuters) -Shares of crypto miners and bitcoin-tracking companies rose on Friday as the world’s largest cryptocurrency extended a recent rally to touch a near 19-month high on improving risk appetite.

Bitcoin, up 1.6% at $38,337, has been gaining since October on optimism that a potential approval of a spot exchange-traded fund is likely to unleash more capital investments in the digital asset sector.

“Tailwinds have been gathering strength all year, especially in recent months, as spot ETF expectations build, the Binance uncertainty is resolved, and 2024’s accelerated money printing becomes more inevitable,” crypto-focused economist Noelle Acheson said, referring to the bitcoin rally.

Shares of bitcoin miners – whose profitability improves as bitcoin climbs – including Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital and TeraWulf rose between 1.7% and 4%.

J.P.Morgan raised its price targets on Cipher Mining, CleanSpark, Iris Energy, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms to reflect the rally in bitcoin.

The mining companies are also increasing production before bitcoin’s “halving” event next year, when rewards for producing the tokens are cut in half.

Coinbase’s shares rose about 2.5% following the 62% jump in November that outperformed bitcoin’s 11% climb even as the U.S. crypto exchange reported a decline in trading volume earlier in the month.

“Higher crypto prices should lead to a boost in transaction volume and transaction revenues for Coinbase as we enter 2024,” said CFRA Research analyst Michael Elliott.

However, Elliott cautioned the crypto exchange faces both legal challenges and new regulations that are likely to take time to play out and will continue to result in volatility for the stock.

The ETF approval bets have helped counter latest concerns after Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange, stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws.

Among other gainers were U.S. software developer and bitcoin investor Microstrategy, up nearly 3.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which added 2.1%.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Krishna Chandra Eluri)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bond investors are pricing in imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts by the first half of next year, as signs of slowing U.S. economic growth and easing inflation became more evident.

While a weakening growth outlook is likely an important factor in keeping the U.S. central bank from raising rates, progress on the inflation front could determine when it will pivot toward monetary policy easing.

The release on Thursday of the latest U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, could mark another step closer to that looming policy shift.

The PCE price index was unchanged in October after climbing 0.4% in September. In the 12 months through October, it rose 3.0%, the smallest year-on-year gain since March 2021 and a sharp drop from the 3.4% reading in September.

“The Fed is on hold, and (this report) gives them more comfort in staying on hold. What they’re doing is working,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager, Dakota Wealth Management in Fairfield, Connecticut.

“The data is trending in the direction that the Fed wants to see,” Pavlik said. “A 25- to 50 basis-point cut before the end of the summer 2024 would make sense as the economy slows down, for the Fed to fine tune how their policy tools are working.”

Traders’ confidence was reinforced earlier this week when Fed Governor Christopher Waller, a hawkish policymaker, flagged a possible rate cut in the months ahead.

Markets will be looking to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks on Friday at Spelman College in Atlanta to see whether he doubles down on Waller’s comments or pushes back.

Here is how Fed policy expectations are playing out in different corners of the bond and money markets:

FED FUNDS FUTURES

Federal funds futures are the most straightforward measure of determining of where traders believe the U.S. central bank’s benchmark overnight interest rate will be in the future. That market has priced in about a 45% chance of a rate cut at the March 19-20, 2024 meeting, rising to about a 75% probability at the April 30-May 1 meeting, the CME FedWatch Tool showed on Thursday. Overall, the rates market sees a roughly 100 basis points (bps) of cuts by the end of 2024, according to LSEG data.

YIELD CURVE

The current yield curve measuring the gap between yields on U.S. two-year and 10-year Treasury notes has narrowed its inversion for the past several weeks. An inversion of this part of the curve is viewed by many as a reliable signal that a recession is likely to follow in one to two years.

But the yield curve has been reducing its inversion as investors start to price in the end of the Fed’s tightening cycle. It was last at minus 38.50 bps.

Market participants referred to the yield curve’s move in the last few weeks as a “bull steepener,” a scenario in which short-term yields are falling faster than long-term ones. This often happens when the Fed is expected to cut interest rates, analysts said.

SOFR FUTURES

Bond investors also look to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures to gauge expectations of Fed rate moves. The March 2024 SOFR futures have priced in a 50% chance of a 25 basis-point cut at the March meeting.

The June 2024 SOFR futures have priced at least one Fed cut, while the probability of two 25-basis-point rate reductions was at 76%.

SOFR, a measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight, replaced the prior benchmark rate, Libor, on June 30 after a rate-fixing scandal by bankers at several major financial institutions came to light in 2012. It’s now the backbone of U.S. corporate borrowing.

OIS FORWARDS

The overnight index swap (OIS) forwards market, another corner of the fixed income market that shows traders’ rate expectations, is also pricing in rate cuts starting in March.

An OIS transaction involves exchanging an overnight rate such as the federal funds rate for a fixed one. For instance, in a U.S. two-year OIS transaction, one party receives a fixed two-year rate in exchange for paying the fed funds rate daily over the next two years.

The three-month by six-month OIS forward is factoring more than a 40% chance of a 25-basis-point cut by the Fed’s March meeting, LSEG data showed. The longer-dated six-month by nine-month OIS showed 100% odds of at least one rate cut by June, while the chances of two rate cuts by the middle of next year are at 78%.

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Stephen Culp; Editing by Alden Bentley and Paul Simao)

JPMorgan Targets $1.5B Value Gain on Artificial Intelligence Use

JPMorgan has started reaping the rewards of its aggressive investments in artificial intelligence tools and innovations. Last year, the financial juggernaut set a target of $1 billion in business value from the revolutionary technology. Having integrated an array of AI powered tools into its operation and enjoyed tremendous success; it has increased its target to $1.5 billion this year.

JPMorgan AI Bet

It now appears that investment banks believe artificial intelligence has the potential to unlock significant value in the future.  The fact that the technology has already started generating considerable revenue, hints of substantial growth in value as the technology advances and more financial solutions become available.

Some of the revolutionary technology’s key benefits include efficiency in using artificial technology in various operations. In addition, the technology is helping cut costs in multiple operations, consequently bolstering JPMorgan’s profit margins.

Thanks to artificial intelligence tools, JPMorgan has already enjoyed gains from personalized recommendations. For instance, the technology has greatly benefited the card business, providing valuable insights into client coverage teams.

The bank has since set sights on experimenting more with artificial intelligence tools as they promise to help boost staff productivity. The prospect of trimming costs even further is an opportunity the bank cannot leave to chance, going by the thousands of open roles tied to the revolutionary technology.

Growing AI Use in Finance

JPMorgan is not the only financial institution to delve into artificial intelligence. Almost all the world’s largest banks have been experimenting with revolutionary technology to strengthen their competitive edge in the highly competitive industry.

Financial institutions are increasing hiring for AI-related positions, impressed by the success of ChatGPT. The fact that ChatGPT can enhance customer relations while also summarizing documents, writing emails and providing clever responses has proved to be a great hit and success for the financial sector. Most banks see artificial intelligence as the ultimate technology that could help enhance customer services.

While the technology has the potential to help employer’s shrink employees’ workweek to just 3.5 days, it presents a unique challenge that most people have been crying out loud. The prospect of many workers being billed redundant is becoming increasingly apparent as the technology continues carrying out tasks that humans would have done.

As is the case in other industries, there is a risk of thousands of jobs being lost in the financial sector. While most companies insist that artificial intelligence has the potential to have a significant impact on their operations, the risk of dislocating talent and leaving thousands unemployed cannot be ignored

JPMorgan has defended its adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, insisting that the technology is not replacing humans in its operations. Instead, it demands that technology is helping augment humans and enhance their productivity.

In addition, it expects the technology to play a pivotal role in improving the growth metrics without increasing headcount, which eats into margins. The bank also remains focused on tapping the best talent globally even as it continues investing in emerging technologies.

By Robert Harvey

(Reuters) -Oil prices were broadly steady on Friday following a 2% drop on Thursday, with the market seemingly unconvinced that the latest round of production cuts by the OPEC+ coalition will be able to lift prices out of their recent slump.

Brent crude futures for February rose 22 cents, or 0.27%, to $81.08 a barrel by 1058 GMT on their first day as the front-month Ice Brent contract.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 31 cents, or 0.41%, to $76.27.

OPEC+ producers agreed on Thursday to remove around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the global market in the first quarter of next year, which included a rolling over of Saudi Arabia and Russia’s current 1.3 million bpd of voluntary cuts.

OPEC+, which pumps over 40% of the world’s oil, is focusing on reducing output as prices have fallen from about $98 in late September amid concerns over weaker economic growth in 2024.

But the market received the news with scepticism and confusion, driven by concerns about compliance given the voluntary nature of the reductions, as well as investors’ prior expectations of deeper cuts.

“There is probably enough in these cuts to stop a full-blown meltdown of price but it will not stop a billowing cloud of confusion that is going to take the oil market weeks and months to figure out and only if the self-reporting data is indeed reliable,” PVM analyst John Evans said on Friday.

“Markets may have been pricing in another larger cut, and it just didn’t meet those expectations,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam added.

Investors also turned attention to macroeconomic headwinds on the demand side.

“The only real hope for long term balance in the market is for a dramatic improvement in global economic data as we start the new year, that would need to come from a “soft-landing” or even interest rate cuts,” Onyx Capital Group chief executive Greg Newman told Reuters on Friday.

Global factory data remained weak in November on poor demand, surveys showed, as the euro zone kept contracting but mixed signals surfaced on the Chinese economy.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey, Laura Sanicola and Sudarshan VaradhanEditing by Frances Kerry)

By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) -Oil prices fell by more than 2% on Thursday after OPEC+ producers agreed to voluntary oil output cuts for the first quarter next year that fell short of market expectations.

Brent crude futures for January settled 27 cents, or 0.3%, lower to expire at $82.83 a barrel, and a 5.2% loss for the month. The February contract, which begins trading as the front month on Friday, fell $2.00, or 2.4%, to $80.86.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down $1.90, or 2.4%, to $75.96, and down 6.2% in November.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+, who pump more than 40% of the world’s oil, agreed to voluntary output cuts approaching 2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of 2024.

At least 1.3 million bpd of those cuts, however, were an extension of voluntary curbs that Saudi Arabia and Russia already had in place. Earlier, delegates had said new additional cuts under discussion were as much as 2 million bpd.

“For now, the outcome does not live up to the expectation… in recent days,” said Callum MacPherson, head of commodities at Investec.

The voluntary nature of the cuts left investors nonplussed.

“From what we’ve seen so far, this looks like a paper cut of around 600-700,000 barrels per day (bpd) vs Q4 2023 planned levels,” said James Davis at FGE.

“It could at best be an actual cut of around 500,000 bpd compared to Q4. This might be just enough to keep the market balanced in Q1, but it will be close.”

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Algeria were among producers who said cuts would be unwound gradually after the first quarter, market conditions permitting.

The meeting, being held on the same day as global leaders gather in Dubai for the U.N. climate conference, was originally scheduled for last week but was deferred because of disagreements over output quotas for African producers.

OPEC+ also invited Brazil, a top 10 oil producer, to become a member of the group. The country’s energy minister said it hoped to join in January.

Meanwhile crude output in the U.S., the world’s top producer, continued to grow, rising 1.7% in September to a monthly record of 13.24 million bpd, the Energy Information Administration said.

Crude production in Texas fell by 0.1% to 5.57 million bpd, the lowest since July and the first time production in the state has fallen since April, the EIA said.

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola in WashingtonEditing by Simon Webb, Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy)

By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) -Oil prices fell as much as nearly 2% on Thursday after OPEC+ producers agreed to voluntary oil output cuts for the first quarter next year that fell short of market expectations.

Brent crude futures for January fell by 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.83 a barrel by 2:07 p.m. EDT (1907 GMT), with the front month contract on track for a 5% loss in November. The January contract expires later on Thursday, and the more liquid February contract was down $2.06, or 2.5%, at $80.82.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by $1.96, or 2.5%, to $75.90, and on track for a 6% loss for the month.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+, who pump more than 40% of the world’s oil, agreed to voluntary output cuts approaching 2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of 2024.

At least 1.3 million bpd of those cuts, however, were an extension of voluntary curbs that Saudi Arabia and Russia already had in place. Earlier, delegates had said new additional cuts under discussion were as much as 2 million bpd.

“For now, the outcome does not live up to the expectation… in recent days,” said Callum MacPherson, head of commodities at Investec.

The voluntary nature of the cuts left investors nonplussed.

“From what we’ve seen so far, this looks like a paper cut of around 600-700,000 barrels per day (bpd) vs Q4 2023 planned levels,” said James Davis at FGE.

“It could at best be an actual cut of around 500,000 bpd compared to Q4. This might be just enough to keep the market balanced in Q1, but it will be close.”

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Algeria were among producers who said cuts would be unwound gradually after the first quarter, market conditions permitting.

The meeting, being held on the same day as global leaders gather in Dubai for the U.N. climate conference, was originally scheduled for last week but was deferred because of disagreements over output quotas for African producers.

OPEC+ also invited Brazil, a top 10 oil producer, to become a member of the group. The country’s energy minister said it hoped to join in January.

Meanwhile crude output in the U.S., the world’s top producer, continued to grow, rising 1.7% in September to a monthly record of 13.24 million bpd, the Energy Information Administration said.

Crude production in Texas fell by 0.1% to 5.57 million bpd, the lowest since July and the first time production in the state has fallen since April, the EIA said.

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola in WashingtonEditing by Simon Webb, Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy)

By Tom Wilson and Elizabeth Howcroft

LONDON (Reuters) – A new front has emerged in Israel’s fight against the funding of Iran-backed militant groups from Hamas to Hezbollah: A fast-growing crypto network called Tron.

Quicker and cheaper than its larger rival Bitcoin, Tron has overtaken its rival as a platform for crypto transfers associated with groups designated as terror organizations by Israel, the United States and other countries, according to interviews with seven financial crime experts and blockchain investigations specialists.

A Reuters’ analysis of crypto seizures announced by Israeli security services since 2021 reflects the trend, showing for the first time a sharp rise in the targeting of Tron wallets and a fall in Bitcoin wallet seizures.

“Earlier it was Bitcoin and now our data shows that these terrorist organizations tend to increasingly favor Tron,” said Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of New York-based blockchain analysis firm Merkle Science, citing Tron’s faster transaction times, low fees, and stability.

Merkle Science says it counts law enforcement agencies in the United States, Britain and Singapore as clients.

Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), which is responsible for such seizures, froze 143 Tron wallets between July 2021 and October 2023 that it believed were connected to a “designated terrorist organization” or used for a “severe terror crime,” the Reuters analysis found.

The Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel killed around 1,200 people. Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed some 14,000 people. In its response, Israel has also stepped up scrutiny of Hamas’ financing.

Contacted by Reuters with a summary of this article, Hayward Wong, a spokesperson for British Virgin Islands-registered Tron said all technologies could “in theory be used for questionable activities,” citing as an example U.S. dollars being used for money laundering.

Wong said Tron did not have control over those using its technology and that it was not linked to the groups identified by Israel.

Almost two-thirds of Israel’s Tron seizures – 87 – were this year, including 39 wallets that Israel said in June were owned by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and 26 it said in July belonged to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally that joined the assault on Israel from Gaza.

The seizures have also included 56 Tron wallets NBCTF said were linked to Hamas, including 46 in March last year it connected to a single Gaza-based money exchange company called Dubai Co. For Exchange.

Weeks after the Hamas assault, Israel announced its biggest known seizure of crypto accounts yet, freezing around 600 accounts it connected to Dubai Co., without stating which crypto networks or coins were used.

More than a dozen people whose funds were frozen in that seizure told Reuters they had been using Tron. They said they traded crypto to help their business or personal finances and denied any connection with Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

One of the people, who identified themselves only as Neo, said it was possible they had transferred money on one occasion to somebody associated with Hamas.

Israel calls Dubai Co. a terrorist group “due to the aid that they provide to the Hamas terrorist organization, particularly its military arm, in transferring funds on a scale of tens of millions of dollars a year.”

A representative for Dubai Co., whose email was listed on the seizure order, did not respond to a request for comment.

The armed wing of Hamas, which had raised crypto funds since at least 2019, said in April it would cease Bitcoin fundraising, citing increased efforts to prevent donations. Hamas did not mention Tron in the statement.

Reuters could not independently determine whether Hamas had used Tron. NBCTF declined to comment for this story, including about its understanding of the shift to Tron and how it linked the wallets to the militant groups. Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad did not respond to requests for comment.

Six people listed on Israel’s previous Tron seizure notices who responded to Reuters questions denied connections to militant groups. They included people based in Venezuela, Dubai and the West Bank city of Jenin.

‘AXIS OF RESISTANCE’

In the June statement, Israel said it seized funds “intended for use by the terrorist organizations financed by Iran.” Iran counts Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad in a so-called Axis of Resistance opposing Israeli and American power in the Middle East.

In the seizure statements, NBCTF did not affirm Tehran was the source of the funding. Iran’s foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment about using Tron to fund groups it supports.

Iran has previously used Tron to skirt U.S. sanctions. Reuters reported last year that Iranian firms used it for $8 billion in transactions between 2018 and 2022.

Estimates of the sums of money that reach proscribed groups through crypto are unreliable because it is hard to say whether money sent to seized wallets was really destined for those groups.

The value of crypto transactions and the digital wallet addresses used for them can be traced on the blockchain – a public ledger that underpins crypto. However, it is hard for those outside law enforcement or crypto trading platforms to know the real identity of those involved in the transactions.

The people Reuters consulted additionally said their research showed the cryptocurrency Tether was dominant across the Tron network.

Tether, the world’s biggest so-called stablecoin, is backed by reserves and aims to keep a 1:1 peg with the dollar. The company said in a statement that it regularly traced and froze tokens “used for nefarious purposes,” and coordinated these efforts with law enforcement.

Tether is the third-largest crypto token, with a market value of $89 billion, up by around a third in the past year, according to CoinGecko data.

Despite its lack of name recognition outside crypto circles, Tron is the dominant blockchain for Tether transactions, currently hosting $48 billion of the tokens, according to Tether’s website. Average daily transactions on Tron hit 9.1 million from April-June, according to data firm Messari, up over 70% from the same period last year.

Justin Sun, who founded Tron in 2017, was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March for allegedly artificially inflating trading volumes and selling Tron tokens as an unregistered security. Sun said the SEC charges “lack merit.”

When Reuters reached out to Sun for comment, a person named Binbin Deng responded, referring Reuters to Tron spokesperson Wong’s statement.

‘BLINDSPOT’

Since its 2008 birth, the Bitcoin blockchain, and since then crypto more widely, have been magnets for criminals drawn by liquidity and a reputation for anonymity. Of all crypto transaction volumes, the illicit share was 0.2% in 2022, down from 2% three years earlier, according to blockchain tracker Chainalysis.

In Israel, Bitcoin seizures have been scarce by comparison with Tron. In 2021, the first year NBCTF published seizure notices, it froze 30 Bitcoin wallets. No Bitcoin wallets appear in notices in the subsequent years.

The Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based G7 body that fights illicit finance, warned last month that terrorist organisations were seeking to further boost donor anonymity, citing the growing popularity of Tether transfers on Tron.

Four of the people consulted by Reuters said law enforcement’s increased capability to trace transactions on Bitcoin was driving such groups to Tron.

Tron initially drew less attention from blockchain analysis firms, said Shlomit Wagman, a senior fellow at Harvard University who was director-general of the Israel Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prohibition Authority from 2016 to 2022.

“There was until now this blindspot,” she said.

Transaction fees on Tron cost far less than on Bitcoin, U.S. investment firm VanEck says. Militant groups were also using stablecoins on Tron instead of more volatile bitcoin tokens to ensure the “value of their crypto is being preserved,” Wagman said.

(Reporting by Tom Wilson and Elizabeth Howcroft in London, additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Maya Gebeily in Beirut ; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Thursday after rising by more than 1% earlier in the session after OPEC+ oil producers agreed to voluntary output cuts approaching 2 million barrels per day (bpd) for early next year, with each country announcing separately its voluntary cut.

Brent crude futures for January fell by 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $82.60 a barrel by 11:30 a.m. EDT (1630 GMT). The front-month Brent contract, down about 6% on the month, expires later on Thursday.

The more liquid February contract was down $2.54, or 3.1%, at $80.34.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by $2.63, or 3.4%, to $75.24, and is down about 9% on the month.

Brent’s premium to U.S. WTI futures hit its highest since January in the session.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+, who pump more than 40% of the world’s oil, held a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss 2024 output amid concerns the market faces a potential surplus.

OPEC+ said the latest agreement would involve cuts approaching 2 million bpd, including Saudi Arabia extending a voluntary cut of 1 million bpd it has had in place since July.

Their output of some 43 million bpd already reflects cuts of about 5 million bpd aimed at supporting prices and stabilising the market.

The additional OPEC+ cuts for the first quarter of 2024 are set to be voluntary, a delegate said. Each country will announce separately its voluntary cut, according to a source familiar with the matter.

But there is a large degree of skepticism on how individual OPEC members will reach those cuts, according to Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

“This is a very sketchy report – there is a huge question of their credibility in how these cuts will happen,” Yawger said, adding that the UAE is supposed to be increasing production by 200,000 bpd by 2024.

Nigeria has been given a 2024 output quota of 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), Angola 1.11 million bpd and Congo 0.277 million bpd, a draft statement from OPEC+ seen by Reuters showed.

Russia will cut 500,000 bpd and others will also contribute cuts, one source said.

Algeria’s energy minister told Reuters his country had agreed to curb its output by 50,000 bpd.

OPEC+ oil-producing countries meeting on Thursday to discuss 2024 output levels will convene again next June on 2024 output levels, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The meeting, being held on the same day as global leaders gather in Dubai for the U.N. climate conference, was originally scheduled for last week but was deferred because of disagreements over output quotas for African producers.

The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) ended its meeting on Thursday without making a recommendation regarding 2024 output levels, three delegates told Reuters.

The committee met ahead of the wider meeting of ministers from the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations.

Implementing additional cuts will send prices higher in the immediate future, but the long-term impact is harder to predict, said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

Compliance will be an issue and the global oil balance is probably much less tight than OPEC estimates, he said, citing the latest commercial inventory data out of the United States and the effect on demand from stubbornly high interest rates in many major economies.

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola in Washington, Robert Harvey and Natalie Grover in London and Jeslyn Lerh in SingaporeAdditional reporting by Laura Sanicola in WashingtonEditing by David Goodman, Kirsten Donovan and Lisa Shumaker)

By Natalie Grover and Robert Harvey

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Thursday in anticipation of the outcome of an OPEC+ meeting with potential further supply cuts in 2024 on the agenda.

Brent crude futures for January gained 91 cents, or 1.1%, to $84.01 a barrel by 1417 GMT. The front-month Brent contract expires later on Thursday.

The more liquid February contract was up 83 cents, or 1%, at $83.71.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by 81 cents, or about 1%, to $78.67.

The OPEC+ producer group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, could reach a deal encompassing production cuts approaching 2 million barrels per day (bpd) depending on the outcome of negotiations among members on Thursday, one source told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia’s pledge to extend its voluntary cut would be “really important and take out the risk of a collapse (in any mooted deal),” said Investec analyst Callum Macpherson.

But investors will be waiting for a formal announcement from Thursday’s meeting and a breakdown of the additional cuts.

“Who will have to make the cuts? How long will they last?” Macpherson added.

The meeting, being held on the same day as global leaders gather in Dubai for the U.N. climate conference, was originally scheduled for last week but was deferred because of disagreements over output quotas for African producers.

The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) ended its meeting on Thursday without making a recommendation regarding 2024 output levels, three delegates told Reuters.

The committee met ahead of the wider meeting of ministers from the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations.

Implementing additional cuts will send prices higher in the immediate future, but the long-term impact is harder to predict, said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

Compliance will be an issue and the global oil balance is probably much less tight than OPEC estimates, he said, citing the latest commercial inventory data out of the United States and the effect on demand from stubbornly high interest rates in many major economies.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey and Natalie Grover in London and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Additional reporting by Laura Sanicola in Washington; Editing by David Goodman, Kirsten Donovan)