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Oil up as Saudi Arabia denies report of oil supply increase

written by Bella Palmer
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Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $87.62 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for January began trading Tuesday, rising 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.11 a barrel

Oil prices rose slightly in early Asian trade on Tuesday, a day after Saudi Arabia denied a media report that it was discussing an increase in oil supply with OPEC and its allies.

Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $87.62 by 0007 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for January began trading Tuesday, rising 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.11 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had plunged by more than $5 a barrel in the previous session after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported an increase of up to 500,000 barrels per day will be considered at the OPEC+ meeting on Dec. 4.

Prices rebounded quickly in full after Saudi Arabian energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom is sticking with output cuts and not discussing a potential oil output increase with other OPEC oil producers, state news agency SPA reported, denying the WSJ report.

It turned the whole situation upside down in a matter of minutes, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. The Saudis giveth and then they taketh away.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) recently cut production targets and the energy minister of de facto leader Saudi Arabia was quoted this month as saying the group will remain cautious on oil production because of uncertainty about the global economy.

The front-month Brent crude futures spread narrowed sharply last week, while WTI flipped into contango, reflecting easing supply concerns.

Releasing more oil amid weak Chinese fuel demand and U.S. dollar strength would have moved the market deeper into contango, encouraging more oil to go into storage and pushing prices still lower, said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.

Rising COVID-19 cases in China capped market gains as the country battles outbreaks nationwide that are nearing April peaks.

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