Oil rises ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices rose today, March 27, as markets in the United States and Britain were closed, and as investors awaited the results of the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for June 2.

Brent crude was trading up 0.26% at $82.33 a barrel, at 08:03 am Makkah time. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.36% to $78 a barrel.

Brent crude prices fell by 2.2% during the previous week, touching the lowest level since February, but are up by 7% since the beginning of the year amid the ongoing global geopolitical tensions and voluntary additional reductions in production by the OPEC+.

Today, markets in the US and Britain are closed, leading to low trading volume. It is expected that the demand for fuel in the US during the driving season on the Memorial Day holiday will contribute to supporting oil prices.

The energy ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will hold an online meeting on June 2 to discuss voluntary production cuts amounting to 2.2 million barrels per day, which are likely to be extended into the second half of this year.