Ammon News - Oil prices rose in Asian trading on Wednesday on expectations major producers will maintain output cuts at a meeting this Sunday, and that fuel consumption should begin rising with the start of the peak summer demand season.

Brent crude futures for July delivery added 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.40 a barrel by 0630 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for July climbed 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $80.11. Both benchmarks gained more than 1% a day earlier.

Traders and analysts expect the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, to keep voluntary production cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels per day in place.

The anticipation of OPEC+ members extending their output cuts has injected optimism into the markets and the move will be seen as a concerted effort to stabilise prices and rebalance the global oil market, said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of Delhi-based research firm SS WealthStreet.

Increased fighting in the Gaza Strip as Israeli tanks advanced to the heart of the Rafah section also provided some backing for prices amid concerns of a widening of the conflict to the greater Middle East, a key supply region.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen by about 1.9 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

Reuters