Oil prices steady as eyes turn to OPEC+ meeting
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The news: Oil prices held steady this morning as traders looked ahead to the upcoming meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, on 2 June.
The numbers: Brent futures were up 0.2% to USD82 ($123.64) a barrel by 11:30am AEST, having dropped 2.2% last week and hitting the lowest levels since early February, according to Bloomberg. West Texas Intermediate was also up 0.2%, at USD77.87.
In the local market, energy was the second worst performing sector on the ASX on Monday morning, gaining 0.05% as the wider stockmarket lifted 0.67%. Woodside was down 0.5%, while Santos (0.46%) and Ampol (0.94%) both gained.
The context: At this week's OPEC+ meeting, producers are expected to discuss extending voluntary output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second half of the year.
The output cuts, combined with persistent geopolitical risks, have helped Brent crude to gains of around 7% this year. However, Brent futures have fallen since April, as fears of an expanding conflict in the Middle East eased.
Last week, oil benchmarks declined after minutes from a US Federal Reserve meeting showed some officials would be willing to tighten interest rates further if they believed it was necessary to control persistent inflation.
The source: Bloomberg
