Ministers of the OPEC+ oil will meet on Wednesday to discuss production levels as the market fears another production increase amid falling prices.
Prices have dropped, also over worries that the US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught will cause an economic slump and weigh on demand.
The oil cuts production to prop up prices began in 2022, however, Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members surprised markets recently by raising output for May and June.
Analysts say the hikes could be a punishment on OPEC members that have failed to meet their quotas.
Oil prices have hovered around a relatively low $60-$65 per barrel.
At a meeting in December, OPEC+ decided to wait until late 2026 to reverse collective cuts of some two million barrels per day (bpd), as well as additional cuts by some member countries of 1.65 million bpd.
However, they decided to reopen the valves this year, raising output by 411,000 bpd in May.
It unveiled a similar increase for June, much higher than the initial plan of 137,000 bpd.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as market expects more output from OPEC+, which had continued to limit gains.
Brent crude futures rose 0.12 cents, or 0.19%, to $ 64.21 a barrel by 7:48 WAT on Wednesday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 24 cents, or 0.4%, at $61.13 a barrel. The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $65,01 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $64,65 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
However, price gains were limited on Wednesday amid expectations that OPEC+ will decide to increase output at the meeting.
Reports say OPEC+ could unwind the rest of its 2.2 million bpd voluntary production cut by the end of October, having already raised output targets by about 1 million bpd for April, May and June.
