Oil prices leaped as much as 5 percent on Tuesday, November 15, recovering from multi-month lows on expectations that OPEC will agree later this month to cut production to reduce a supply glut, Reuters reports.
North Sea Brent crude oil was up $2.08 a barrel, or 4.7 percent, at $46.51 by 1:58 p.m. ET after hitting a three-month low of $43.57 on Monday.
U.S. light crude was up $2.18 a barrel, or 5 percent, at $45.50. It reached a three-month low of $42.20 on Monday.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, is due to meet on Nov. 30 to agree to limit output. An outline deal was reached in September but negotiations on the detail are proving difficult, officials say.
Traders and analysts also pointed to a report from Monday about a last ditch effort by OPEC to bring the world’s top producers together to rein in production, saying it triggered a wave of short covering.
“Clearly the market is now seeing increased chances of an OPEC production cut,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note.
“There is doubtless considerable pressure to take action, as the oversupply will not reduce itself”
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister,Khalid al-Falih, has said it is imperative OPEC reach a consensus on a deal to curb production, Algeria’s state news agency APS said on Sunday.
