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Brent crude futures were up 14 cents, or 0.2%, at$64.21 a barrel
by 1250 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose
25 cents, or 0.4% to $61.53, with both contracts moving in and
out of positive territory.
Analysts and traders say a four-month price rally from below $40
a barrel is now out of step with demand and that physical sales
are not expected to match supply until later in 2021.
Still, with prices above $60, some analysts have predicted OPEC+
producers will increase output by about 500,000 barrels per day
(bpd) and expect Saudi Arabia to at least partially end its
voluntary reduction of 1 million bpd.
Three OPEC+ sources on Wednesday said some members believe that
output should remain unchanged and that it was not immediately
clear whether Saudi Arabia would end its voluntary cuts or
extend them.
"The market ... can take back at least 500,000 bpd (excluding
Saudi's extra cuts) from April and even more in following
months, in line with the recovery we expect in oil demand," said
Rystad's head of oil markets, Bjornar Tonhaugen.
"Some mild negative price reaction will take place, though, if
the decision is to increase output. Such a development would
prevent some steep stock draws that had been priced in for a
while for coming months."
In the United States, despite a record surge of more than 21
million barrels in crude oil stockpiles last week, gasoline
stocks fell by the most in 30 years as refining plunged to a
record low because of the Texas freeze.
Giving a floor to prices, Yemen's Houthi forces said on Thursday
that they had fired a missile at a Saudi Aramco facility in
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah. There was no immediate
confirmation from Saudi authorities.
(Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral and Florence Tan;
Editing by David Goodman)
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