Global oil markets edged up on Thursday as expectations that OPEC will extend production cuts at a meeting at the end of this month outweighed rising US crude production and inventories.
Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $62.06 per barrel at 0742 GMT, up 19 cents, or 0.3 per cent, from their last close.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $55.39 a barrel, 6 cents up from their last settlement, reports Reuters.
“Oil shrugged off an unexpected rise in the US crude inventory data ... Both contracts eked out small gains,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.
Traders said this was due to efforts led by the OPEC to withhold oil production to tighten the market and prop up prices.
The deal is due to expire in March 2018, but OPEC will meet on Nov. 30 to discuss policy, and it is expected to agree an extension of the cuts.
Despite Thursday’s gains, Brent and WTI have lost around 4.0 per cent in value since hitting 2015 highs last week, pulled down in part by rising crude availability in the United States.
US crude inventories C-STK-T-EIA rose for a second week in a row, building by 1.9 million barrels in the week to Nov. 10 to 459 million barrels, the government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
That compared to analyst expectations in a Reuters poll for a decrease of 2.2 million barrels.
US crude oil production C-OUT-T-EIA hit a record of 9.65 million barrels per day (bpd), meaning output has risen by almost 15 per cent since their most recent low in mid-2016.
