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Brent crude futures were up 37 cents, or 0.46%, to $80.37 a
barrel by 1210 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.38%, to $77.28.
OPEC+ producers, which include members of the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries along with Russia and others,
on Tuesday agreed to add another 400,000 barrels per day of
supply in February, as they have done each month since August.
The United States reported nearly 1 million new coronavirus
infections on Monday, the highest daily tally of any country in
the world and nearly double the previous U.S. peak set a week
earlier.
While OPEC+ raised its output target, it will likely struggle to
reach it, as members including Nigeria, Angola and Libya face
difficulties ramping up production, Barclays analysts said in a
note.
"OPEC+ has adopted the path of least (political) resistance, as
it continues to stay the course on increasing output targets,
but actual incremental supplies are likely to be much smaller,
similar to the demand effect from Omicron."
The bank expects Brent oil prices to average $80 a barrel in
2022.
Data showing a sharp rise in U.S. inventories last week also
weighed on prices.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose by 7.1 million barrels in the week
to Dec. 31, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported late
on Tuesday. Distillate stockpiles climbed by 4.4 million barrels
in the week. [API/S]
Stocks data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration will
be published at 1530 GMT.
(Additional reporting by Mohi Narayan and Sonali Paul; editing
by Kenneth Maxwell, Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)
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