Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors considered OPEC+’s decision to limit production increases next month and put aside fears of a supply glut.
Brent crude futures rose 48 cents, or 0.7%, to $65.93 a barrel by 04:00 GMT. WTI rose 51 cents, or 0.8%, to $62.24.
In the previous session, indices were generally flat as investors interpreted signs of a supply glut as OPEC+’s decision to lower its November production increase than expected.
The market is experiencing price uncertainty, with one side leaning toward a potential supply glut, while the other believes the surplus will not be as rapid as anticipated.
Investors are holding long positions as efforts to limit Russian crude oil flows continue, or are hedging their bets on rising prices.
OPEC+ had agreed on a 137,000 barrel per day increase, the lowest among options discussed by the group over the weekend. However, investors are likely to ignore the impact of production increases until the physical market shows signs of easing due to rising inventories.
However, analysts said price increases have been limited as concerns about supply disruptions from Russia have eased, and crude oil shipments have been near a 16-month high for the past four weeks.
Investors are also awaiting US inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) later on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, sources from the American Petroleum Institute (API) said US crude oil inventories rose by 2.78 million barrels in the week ending October 3, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell.
Meanwhile, the EIA said on Tuesday that US oil production is likely to hit a record this year than previously expected.