Oil rises as Opec+ sticks to output strategy

Tokyo — Oil prices rose more than 1% on Friday, staging a partial recovery after Opec+ producers rebuffed a US call to raise supply and instead maintained plans for a gradual return of output halted by the pandemic.

Brent crude rose 82c, or just more than 1%, to $81.36 a barrel at 1.46am GMT, after falling almost 2% on Thursday. US oil gained 97c, or 1.25%, to $79.78 a barrel, having declined 2.5% in the previous session.

The Opec+ group of major producers agreed on Thursday to stick to their plan to raise oil output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) from December, ignoring calls from U.S. President Joe Biden for extra output to cool rising prices.

“This was an easy and quick Opec+ meeting on output,” said Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya, adding “at no point did Opec+ consider changing their output strategy, which was completely the message they had.”

Opec+, which groups Opec and other large producers including Russia, has been restricting supply after the coronavirus pandemic led to an evaporation of demand.

Oil prices recently touched seven-year highs, but fell earlier this week on a US stocks build-up and signs that high prices may encourage more supply elsewhere.

Brent is on track for a nearly 4% decline this week, the second straight week the contract has fallen. US oil is heading for a decline this week of nearly 5%.

Reuters