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By 1424 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 40 cents, or 0.55 percent, at $72.71 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 40 cents, or 0.58 percent, at 68 .94 dollars per barrel.
OPEC+, which includes member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as RussiaIt plans to start reducing production cuts from October 2024, but slowing global demand and rising production outside the group are among factors that have forced it to repeatedly delay those plans.
“This will not lead to a supply shortage in the coming year and there is still an expected supply surplus,” said Tamas Varga of oil brokerage BVM.
The phasing out of the 2.2 million bpd cut will begin in April 2025, with a monthly increase of 138,000 bpd according to Reuters estimates, and last for 18 months until September 2026.
In the United States, a larger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories last week provided some support for prices.
In the Middle East, Israel said on Tuesday it would return to war with Hezbollah if the truce between them collapses, in which case it will launch attacks deep into Lebanon and target the country itself.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy traveled to the region to visit Qatar and Israel to boost diplomatic efforts, achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and free Israeli hostages before Trump takes office on January 20.
