Oil prices gain near 2% on expectations of deeper OPEC+ cuts

BENGALURU, Nov 29 – Oil prices rose more than USD 1 a barrel on Wednesday as investors focused their attention on expectations of fresh supply cuts from OPEC+ and looked past a jump in US crude, gasoline, and distillate stockpiles.

Brent crude futures advanced by USD 1.42, or 1.7%, to settle at USD 83.10 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained USD 1.45, or 1.9%, to settle at USD 77.86 a barrel.

Oil markets have found support from hopes of some form of a price-supportive resolution from the OPEC+ group, Kpler analyst Matt Smith said.

Members of OPEC+, which includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies such as Russia, are due to hold a policy meeting on Thursday. Talks ahead of the meeting were focusing on additional cuts, although details were yet to be agreed, sources close to the group told Reuters.

Another media report earlier said that the cut could be of as much as 1 million barrels a day.

“All eyes are on the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting, and the fine details will matter,” CFRA analyst Stewart Glickman said.

The Energy Information Administration reported a surprise build in US crude oil and distillate fuel stocks last week, indicating weak demand. Gasoline stocks also rose by more than expected, the data showed.

However, the impact of those builds was neutralized by large draws in other refined products, like residual fuel oil, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million bpd of oil exports from Kazakhstan and Russia, according to state officials and port agent data, raising the prospect of short-term supply tightness.

Kazakhstan’s largest oilfields are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from Nov. 27, the Kazakh energy ministry said.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan; Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Yuka Obayashi, and Muyu Xu; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Kirsten Donovan, and Daniel Wallis)