Oil prices rose on Wednesday after Iraq’s oil minister said OPEC and other crude producers were considering extending or even deepening a supply cut to curb a global glut.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 33 cents, or 0.7 per cent, at $49.81 a barrel at 0419 GMT. Brent crude futures climbed 23 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $55.37, reports Reuters.
While options being considered by the OPEC and other producers include an extension of cuts in output by months, it is premature to decide on what to do beyond March, when the agreement expires, Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi told an energy conference in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
OPEC and other producers including Russia have agreed to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels per day until March 2018 in a bid to reduce global oil inventories and support prices.
Some producers think the pact should be extended for three or four months, others want an extension until the end of 2018, while some, including Ecuador and Iraq, think there should be another round of supply cuts, al-Luaibi said.
But such moves are unlikely to have a big impact, said Georgi Slavov, head of research at commodities brokerage Marex Spectron.
Meanwhile, US crude stocks rose last week while gasoline and distillate stocks decreased, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on Tuesday.
Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to Sept. 15 to 470.3 million, compared with expectations for an increase of 3.5 million barrels.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 422,000 barrels, API said.
Official figures on stockpiles and refinery runs will be released by the US Department of Energy later on Wednesday.
