Crude oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, bolstered by OPEC’s likelihood to extend its production curb agreement, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 64 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $48.37 a barrel, marking its highest finish since March 20.
On the London ICE Futures Exchange, May Brent crude, the global benchmark, tacked on 58 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $51.33 a barrel.
There is a growing sense that OPEC members and its allies must act soon to maintain the credibility of an agreement to curb production by extending it from June until the end of the year. Fear of accelerating output by U.S. shale oil producers has been among the biggest threats to upending the global agreement to limit the free flow of crude oil.
Looking ahead, the energy market will get its weekly update on domestic petroleum supplies early Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration, after the American Petroleum Institute released its figures late Tuesday. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a rise of 300,000 barrels in crude supplies.
April natural gas rose 4.4 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $3.096 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
