Oil extends gains, rises by more than $2

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices extended gains today, June 1, ahead of OPEC+ meeting amid expectation that the group will maintain its agreement on production levels.

Brent crude was trading up 1.78%, or $2.01, at $117.61 per barrel, at 11:01 am GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also rose 1.85%, or $2.12, to $116.79 a barrel.

Oil benchmarks closed May with monthly gains, supported by the European Union’s decision on the latest round sanctions that would forbid buying oil from Russia delivered by sea, but included a temporary exemption for pipelines.

Meanwhile in China, strict COVID-19 lockdown measures ended on May 31, stoking the possibility of a rise fuel demand in the country.

Separately, the monthly report by the Energy Information Administration released this week showed that US crude oil production rose in March by more than 3% to its highest level since November.