Oil rises before OPEC+ meet, lifted by drop in US crude stocks
Oil prices rose on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of OPEC and its allies to discuss whether to extend production curbs to support the market, while industry data showing that US crude stockpiles fell more than expected helped to lift prices.
Brent crude futures were up 35 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $61.17 a barrel by 0246 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up by 31 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $56.41.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies that include Russia, a group known as OPEC+, are preparing to approve deeper crude output cuts this week, when they meet in Vienna, according to Iraq, the group’s second-biggest producer.
