From Sardar Shahab
LONDON: Oil prices clawed their way into positive territory on Tuesday as hopes that the world’s biggest producers will agree to cut output outweighed analyst fears that a global recession in the wake of the coronavirus crisis could be deeper than expected.
Brent crude LCOc1 was up 77 cents, or 2.33%, at $33.82 a barrel by 1353 GMT after falling more than 3% on Monday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 42 cents, or 1.61%, at $26.50, having dropped nearly 8% in the previous session.
“Oil prices are holding their ground with market expectations building on an agreement for an output reduction of 10 million barrels per day (bpd), or at least close to 10 million bpd,” BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchilinguirian told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.
The world’s main oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, are expected to agree to cut output at a meeting on Thursday, though that would depend on the United States joining in, sources told Reuters. Any final agreement for how much OPEC+ will cut during their talks would depend on the volumes that other producers such as the United States, Canada and Brazil are willing to cut, an OPEC source said on Tuesday.
