Oil prices rise on OPEC+ output cut expectations

Gulf Today Report 

Oil prices gained on Wednesday as investors focus on OPEC+ meeting set for tomorrow in which producers would largely extend their supply curbs to May.

Brent crude rose 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $64.46 a barrel at 05:25 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $60.81 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, OPEC+, are set to meet on Thursday, following a month in which oil prices have whipsawed on concerns about extended pandemic lockdowns in Europe, slow vaccine rollouts and rising COVID-19 cases in India and Brazil, pitted against growing optimism on growth in the United States. 

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Considering all that is going on, OPEC+ may pressure prices by another 2 to 3%, said Sunilkumar Katke, head of currencies and commodities at Axis Securities.

Under existing curbs, OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, and non-OPEC producers, led by Russia, have cut just over 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while Saudi Arabia has made an additional voluntary reduction of 1 million bpd.