Singapore — Oil prices rose by 1% ahead of an Opec meeting on Thursday that is expected to extend output cuts into 2018, adding at least nine months to an initial six-month cut in the first half of this year. Brent crude futures were trading at $54.51 a barrel at 2.09am GMT, up 55c, or 1% from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.87, up 51c, or 1%. Both benchmarks have risen well over 16% from their May lows. Prices have risen on a consensus that a pledge by oil cartel Opec and other producers, including Russia, to cut supplies by 1.8-million barrels a day would be extended into 2018, instead of covering only the first half of 2917. Speculation was rife that the cuts may be extended by nine and possibly 12 months, said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at futures brokerage Oanda in Singapore. The production cut, introduced in January, was initially only to cover the first half of 2017, but an ongoing glut has put pressure on Opec and its allies to exten...
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