ANKARA
Oil prices increased on Tuesday amid supply uncertainty magnified by reports of disputes among OPEC+ members over their production quotas for the upcoming year.
International benchmark crude Brent traded at $80.50 per barrel at 11.40 a.m. local time (0840 GMT), a 0.79% increase from the closing price of $79.87 a barrel in the previous trading session on Monday.
The American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), traded at the same time at $75.47 per barrel, up 0.81% from Monday’s close of $74.86 per barrel.
Supply uncertainties in global oil markets continue to impact oil prices. The meeting of OPEC+ members scheduled for Nov. 26 in Vienna was postponed by four days to Nov. 30.
The group is expected to determine its production quotas to be imposed from January onward.
Since 2022, the group has collectively agreed to cut about 5 million barrels of production daily, but the pledge to reduce output has failed to reduce supply excesses on the global market.
If OPEC+ production cuts continue, the average global oil supply is expected to reach 102.8 million barrels per day. Despite production reductions, this represents a surplus of almost 1.3 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency said in its latest analysis.
Additionally, investors are closely following US Fed officials’ statements for further insight into the world’s biggest oil consumer’s interest rate policy. Analysts are awaiting macroeconomic data from the US, scheduled for later in the day.
Meanwhile, supply-side concerns slightly eased after Hamas and Israel initiated a prisoner exchange and a four-day humanitarian break with an additional two-day extension.
