FX.co ★ Oil prices are growing steadily, awaiting the final decision of OPEC

Oil continues to trade upwards ahead of the OPEC meeting today.

In fact, in the NYMEX, May futures for Brent has increased by 0.86%, hitting $ 64.62. Meanwhile, April futures for WTI oil jumped by 0.78% and reached $ 61.76 per barrel.

A day earlier, April futures for WTI grew by 2.6% and traded at $ 61.28 per barrel, while May contracts for Brent soared by 2.2% and closed at $ 64.07 per barrel.

It seems that market participants are continuously monitoring the actions of OPEC. They must be waiting for the final decision of members amid optimism over improving epidemiological situation and recovery in fuel demand.

But on Wednesday, during the first meeting of OPEC, the committee did not issue official recommendations on the level of oil production in April.

To add to that, gasoline inventories in the United States have declined significantly, dropping by 13.6 million barrels over the week of February 20-26, according to the report of the US Department of Energy. Meanwhile, stocks of crude have increased by more than 21 million barrels, while stocks of petroleum have decreased very sharply. The ministry also reported that crude oil inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma increased by 500,000 barrels.

Previously, market participants assumed that OPEC would increase oil production in April (by approximately 500,000 barrels per day). But on the first day of its meeting, some countries have expressed their preference of maintaining the current production limits, amid fears for the volatility of demand.

Aside from that, the decision of Saudi Arabia regarding its additional 1 million bdp production cut remains unknown.

Nevertheless, experts believe that oil prices will decline, especially in the short term. It will largely depend on the final decision of OPEC.

Many expect Saudi Arabia to stop its unilateral production cut and OPEC to ease restrictions.