Brent crude gains more than 2%, exceeds $73

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices extended gains today, Dec. 3, as investors awaited the OPEC+ meeting on Dec. 5 amid expectations that the alliance will postpone increasing supplies early next year.

Brent crude futures contract for February 2025 delivery rose 2.5%, or $1.79, to close at $73.62 a barrel.

WTI crude futures for January 2025 delivery rose 2.7%, or $1.84, to $69.94 a barrel.

The OPECWatch tool showed a 56.5% chance that OPEC+ will delay abandoning part of its voluntary production cuts at this week’s meeting, versus a 42.3% chance that the alliance will not change its policy. The American Petroleum Institute’s report on oil inventories is due later today, and the US Energy Information Administration is due to release official inventory data on Dec. 4, with crude stocks expected to fall by 1.2 million barrels.