Oil prices rise; Brent crosses $71

Oil rigs

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after OPEC+ maintained their plan to cautiously return oil supply in June and July, while expecting fuel demand to recover during the summer driving season in the US.

Brent crude was trading up 1.1% at $71.03 per barrel (bbl), at 1.30 pm Makkah time.

WTI crude rose 0.9% to $68.35/bbl.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) said on June 1, 2021, it will continue its oil output policy that was announced last April, which targets the gradual easing of curbs on supplies until the end of July.

“The market appears focused on the more constructive outlook for later this year, with OPEC+ of the view that the market will see significant stock drawdowns between September and the end of the year,” Reuters reported, citing a note from ING Economics.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute is due to release US oil inventories data for the past week later today, while the Energy Information Administration will release final inventory data tomorrow.