Investing.com – Crude oil prices settled higher on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to inventory data expected to show crude supplies fell last week amid ongoing optimism that Opec will agree to extend output cuts.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for December delivery rose 0.4% cents to settle at $54.38 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent added 0.7% to trade at $61.32 a barrel
With the upcoming Opec November meeting edging closer, oil prices added to recent gains as investors continued to expect Opec will extend output cuts through March 2018 amid recent comments from OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo.
“OPEC welcomes the clear guidance from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia on the need to achieve stable oil markets and sustain it beyond the first quarter of 2018,” Barkindo said, referring to recent comments from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said last week, the kingdom would support extending output cuts in order to rid the market of excess supplies.
In May, Opec producers agreed to extend production cuts for a period of nine months until March, but stuck to production cuts of 1.2 million bpd agreed in November last year. OPEC is slated to next meet at its headquarters in Vienna on Nov. 30.
In the U.S. meanwhile, traders looked ahead to fresh inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday as well as a further report from EIA on Wednesday expected to show a decrease in domestic crude inventories.
Traders are expected to closely monitor U.S. crude export data due Wednesday as the widening spread between crude and brent oil prices has pushed US crude exports to record highs in October.