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Brent crude rose by $1.33 cents, or 2.1%, to $64.07 a barrel by
1023 GMT. U.S. oil was up $1.36, or 2.3%, at $60.52 a barrel.
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries, Russia and other allied producers, a group known as
OPEC+, meet on Thursday to reassess output policy.
OPEC+ will debate options from May and beyond, including a
rollover of existing cuts and a gradual increase of production,
three OPEC+ sources said.
OPEC+ has reduced output by about 7 million barrels per day
(bpd) to support prices and reduce oversupply. In addition,
Saudi Arabia made an extra 1 million bpd voluntary cut.
"Given the recent wobble in prices, along with demand concerns
re-emerging once again, there is a growing consensus that the
OPEC+ will likely roll over current cuts for an additional
month," ING analyst Warren Patterson said.
OPEC+ has trimmed its oil demand growth forecast for this year
by 300,000 bpd because of renewed lockdowns.
France entered its third national lockdown and schools closed
for three weeks to push back a third wave of COVID-19
infections.
Despite the new wave, European markets have recovered most of
their pandemic-driven losses on strong manufacturing activity.
March data showed euro zone factory activity growth galloped at
its fastest pace in the history of the survey.
Oil also found some support in U.S. economic strength after
President Joe Biden outlined a $2.3 trillion spending plan to
invest in traditional projects such as roads and bridges
alongside tackling climate change.
U.S. crude stocks fell unexpectedly last week, helping support
oil prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration data
showed.
"The inventory data ... showed that the situation is continuing
to normalise on the U.S. oil market," Commerzbank analyst Eugen
Weinberg said.
(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; Additional
reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Jason Neely
and Edmund Blair)
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