Oil prices rose on Friday after OPEC decided to move up discussions on whether to extend record production cuts to Saturday, indicating that some laggard countries may have agreed to align themselves with the deal.
Brent crude futures were up 95 cents, or 2.4 per cent, at $40.94 a barrel as of 0920 GMT, after rising over $1 to $41.18.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 64 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to $38.05 a barrel.
“Prices are up with the meeting scheduled for tomorrow. There was lots of confusion… so it looks like they found a way forward,” Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix consultancy said.
“Prices are up with the meeting scheduled for tomorrow. There was lots of confusion… so it looks like they found a way forward,” Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix consultancy said.
Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world’s biggest oil producers, want to extend output cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) into July.
If OPEC+ fails to agree to roll over the current output curbs, that would mean the cut could drop back to 7.7 million bpd from July through December as previously agreed.
