© Reuters FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo
By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices jumped more than a dollar a barrel on Monday, extending gains as investors eyed possible moves by OPEC+ producers at the day’s meeting to adjust production and support prices.
Futures were up $1.43, or 1.5%, at $94.45 a barrel by 0054 GMT, after rising 0.7% on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $88.12 a barrel, up $1.25, or 1.4%, following a 0.3% gain in the previous session. US markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday.
After hitting a multi-year high in March, oil prices have fallen for the past three months in a row as interest rate hikes in parts of China, the world’s top crude importer, and Covid-19 curbs could slow global growth and cool demand for oil.
At a meeting later Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, may decide to maintain current levels of production or even cut production, even as supplies remain tight.
“While we expect the group to remain unchanged, the talk is likely to be bearish as it attempts to contain the recent price slide,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
Russia does not support a cut in oil production this time and will resume production when OPEC+ meets on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, the Western world Negotiations continue in an attempt to renew the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. A deal to do so would allow Tehran to increase exports and improve international supplies.
A day after Iran reopened the issue, the White House on Friday denied linking the deal to a shutdown of UN nuclear watchdogs, a Western diplomat said.