Oil Prices Rise Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

5 Dec 2024 , 10:14 AM

Ahead of an OPEC+ meeting later in the day, oil prices increased on Thursday. Investors were keeping an eye on Middle East tensions and awaiting the producer group’s next move on supply cuts.

According to OPEC+ sources who spoke to Reuters, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are expected to extend their most recent round of oil production cuts by at least three months from January when they meet online on Thursday at 1100 GMT in order to support the oil market further.

U.S. crude prices were up 16 cents, or 0.2%, at $68.70 a barrel, while Brent crude futures had increased 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $72.43 a barrel.

On Wednesday, both benchmarks dropped by almost 2%.

The goal of OPEC+ has been to gradually phase out production reduction through the upcoming year.

Some price support was also given by a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. oil stockpiles last week.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), refiners increased their operations last week, causing U.S. crude stockpiles to drop more than anticipated. Stockpiles of petrol and distillate increased more than anticipated during the week.

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