Oil prices climb ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices climbed as investors remained cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting today, Feb. 2.

Brent crude rose 0.2% to $89.33 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.2% to $88.36 a barrel.

"A drop in US crude inventories provided support, though an increase of gasoline stocks partially offset bullish sentiment," Reuters reported, citing Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

OPEC+ is likely to maintain its policy unchanged, which means a supply shortage and an upward trend in oil prices will continue, he added.

US crude stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 28, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. However, gasoline inventories rose by 5.8 million barrels.

The OPEC+ will likely stick to existing policies of moderate output increases on Wednesday, five sources from the producers' group told Reuters.

OPEC+ technical panel meeting on Tuesday did not discuss a hike of more than the expected 40,000 barrels per day from March, sources said.