Oil prices edge up ahead of upcoming OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) considering meeting as soon as this week to discuss whether to extend record production cuts beyond end-June, Reuters reports. 

Brent crude LCOc1 was unchanged at $37.84 a barrel, in the first day of trading in the contract with August as the front month.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 for July delivery were at $35.53 a barrel, up 4 cents, or 0.1%, by 0629 GMT.

The price falls come after front-month Brent and WTI prices posted their strongest monthly gains in years in May. Gains were boosted by OPEC crude production dropping to its lowest in two decades, with demand expected to recover as more nations emerge from coronavirus lockdowns.

Still, tensions between the United States and China weighed on global financial markets, while traders are also keeping an eye on riots over the weekend that have engulfed major U.S. cities.

Saudi Arabia is proposing to extend record cuts from May and June until the end of the year, but has yet to win support from Russia, sources have told Reuters.

Algeria, which currently holds the OPEC presidency, has proposed that an OPEC+ meeting planned for June 9-10 be brought forward to facilitate oil sales for countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. Russia has no objection to the meeting being brought forward to June 4.

News.Az 

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