Oil prices exceeded the level of 81 dollars per barrel in London, as traders are waiting to find out whether the Saudi-led “OPEC plus” alliance will intervene to boost prices.
Brent futures rose 0.7% after rising 4.1% last Friday, amid reports that Saudi Arabia and its allies may cut production further when they meet at the weekend.
The Bloomberg USD gauge is heading for its lowest close since late August, which makes commodities even more attractive.
To boost morale, OPEC and its allies are expected to reaffirm existing production quotas for 2024, and Saudi Arabia is widely expected to extend an additional one million barrels per day cut until early next year.
Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING banking group, said: “We still expect Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend their additional voluntary cuts until early 2024, but it is less clear whether the wider OPEC Plus Group will make further cuts.
On the other hand, attention has been focused on the risks facing the shipping sector in the Middle East after the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels detained a chartered Japanese tanker in the Red Sea.
