2020.03.0219:18:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures End Sharply Higher As Traders Eye OPEC Meet

Crude oil prices rallied sharply on Monday as traders created fresh positions, betting on hopes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will significantly cut crude production.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended up $1.99, or about 4.5%, at $46.75 a barrel.

On Friday, WTI crude oil futures for April ended down $2.33, or 5%, at $44.76 a barrel, the lowest settlement since end December 2018. Oil futures lost nearly 16% last week, the biggest weekly decline in more than 12 years.

The OPEC and its allies are scheduled to meet this Thursday and Friday in Vienna. Currently, the group is producing 1.7 million barrels less per day.

According to the Production Supply Monthly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. oil output fell to 12.78 million barrels per day in December from 12.86 million barrels per day a month earlier.

But then, weekly oil reports from EIA since January this year, have showed a jump in crude production in the U.S, with output rising to a record 13 million barrels per day.

Traders were also betting on hopes that global central banks will soon announce monetary easing measures to revive sagging economies.