Oil prices rise on faith in supply cuts, demand recovery

MELBOURNE: Oil prices pushed higher in early trade on Friday, building on gains in the previous session, after OPEC producers and allies promised to meet their supply cut commitments and two major oil traders said demand was recovering well.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 23 cents, or 0.6%, to $39.07 a barrel at 0209 GMT, while Brent crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $41.69 a barrel. Both contracts rose around 2% on Thursday.

Plans by Iraq and Kazakhstan to make up for overproduction in May on their supply cut commitments supported the market. The promises came out of a meeting by a panel monitoring compliance by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a grouping called OPEC+.