02.06.202010:33:00UTC+00Oil Prices Rally Ahead Of OPEC+ Meeting

Oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as traders waited to see whether major crude producers will extend their huge output cuts at a meeting as early as Thursday.

Benchmark Brent crude climbed 2.9 percent to $39.42 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 2.8 percent at $36.45 a barrel.

Recent supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, helped Brent prices double over the past six weeks. However, prices are still down about 40 percent for the year.

It is expected that OPEC+ producers, the 23-nation group, will extend their output cuts through July or August at an online meeting likely on June 4.

They had agreed in April to cut their total oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from May 1 through June 30.

A Genscape report on Monday showing a drop in crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma also buoyed prices ahead of the American Petroleum Institute's inventory report due out later in the day.