AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Investing.com-- Oil prices rose sharply Wednesday, boosted by further supply disruptions ahead of a delayed OPEC+ meeting to decide on future output policy.
By 09:10 ET (14.10 GMT), the U.S. crude futures traded 1.2% higher at $77.33 a barrel and the Brent contract climbed 1% to $82.27 a barrel.
Supply disruptions help crude prices
A severe storm in the Black Sea region has reportedly disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day of oil exports from the region, as it resulted in Kazakhstan’s three biggest oil fields cutting output by 56%.
Additionally, the oil market also found support from a drop in U.S. crude inventories, with stocks falling by 817,000 barrels last week, according to data from industry body American Petroleum Institute.
Official data is scheduled for release later in the session, and if this draw is confirmed it comes after a bumper, 8.7 million build in the week before. U.S. inventories had seen four straight weeks of builds as fuel demand appeared to be cooling with the winter season.
OPEC+ meeting looms large
However, the market’s main focus remains on a remote meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, on Thursday to discuss output levels going into 2024.
The meeting has already been delayed, having originally been scheduled for Sunday, reportedly after a number of African countries complained about their lower 2024 production targets. Talks behind the scenes are said to be continuing, although the group has reportedly moved closer to a compromise.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+ have already pledged total oil output cuts of about 5 million barrels per day (bpd), about 5% of daily global demand, in a series of steps that started in late 2022.
This includes Saudi Arabia's additional voluntary production cut of 1 million bpd, which is due to expire at the end of December, and a Russian export cut of 300,000 bpd until the end of the year.
U.S. economy grows at healthy clip
Also helping the tone Wednesday was the news that the U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, as data showed that the country’s gross domestic product increased at a 5.2% annualized rate last quarter, revised up from the previously reported 4.9% pace.
Also due Thursday are upcoming purchasing managers index readings from China, which are expected to provide more cues on business activity in the world’s largest oil importer.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report)
