Oil prices continue to rise on hopes that the world’s biggest producers will agree to cut production in the coming weeks.
Brent crude was up 83 cents, or 2.5%, at $33.88 U.S. a barrel Tuesday after falling more than 3% on Monday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 95 cents, or 3.6%, at $27.03 U.S., having dropped nearly 8% in the previous trading session.
The world’s main oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, are expected to agree to cut production at a meeting on April 9. Globally, oil demand has dropped by as much as 30%, coinciding with moves by Saudi Arabia and Russia to flood markets with extra supply after a previous output deal fell apart.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, had been curtailing production in recent years even as the United States ramped up its own output to become the world’s biggest crude oil producer.
There are questions whether the United States would join any coordinated action to curb supply going forward. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that OPEC had not asked him to push domestic oil producers to cut production to buttress prices. He also said that U.S. output was declining on its own in response to falling prices.
