London — Oil rose on Wednesday, set for its largest third-quarter gain in 13 years, after the Iraqi oil minister said oil cartel Opec and its partners were considering extending or deepening supply cuts to erode an existing global surplus. Brent crude futures rose 29c to $55.43 a barrel by 8am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 42c at $49.90 a barrel. The oil price is on course for a rise of 15.5% this quarter, which would make this year’s performance the strongest for the third quarter since 2004. "An improving macro-economic backdrop should spur oil demand growth over the next couple of quarters and if Opec increases its adherence to production cuts, higher prices will come," ANZ Research said in a note." All things being equal, we still expect oil prices to test new highs [for 2017] by the end of the year." Opec and other producers are mulling a range of options, including an extension of cuts, but it is premature to decide on what to do beyond Marc...
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