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Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 0.8%, to $78.66 a barrel
by 0946 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up
66 cents, or 0.9%, at $73.19.
Comments by Saudi Arabia's energy minister that OPEC+ production
cuts could continue past the first quarter of 2024 lent some
price support, said OANDA analyst Kelvin Wong.
Oil prices had declined on Monday on doubts that OPEC+ supply
cuts would have a significant impact, said CMC Markets analyst
Tina Teng.
On Tuesday, however, the Kremlin said that the cuts agreed by
the OPEC+ group will take time to kick in.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies
including Russia, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Thursday to
voluntary output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd)
for the first quarter of 2024.
At least 1.3 million bpd of those cuts, however, were an
extension of voluntary curbs that Saudi Arabia and Russia
already had in place.
Meanwhile, the resumption of fighting in the Israel-Hamas war
has stoked supply concerns, as did attacks on three commercial
vessels in international waters in the southern Red Sea.
Those incidents followed a series of attacks in Middle East
waters since war broke out between Israel and Palestinian
militant group Hamas on Oct. 7.
There was a bright spot on the demand side, with European
Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel telling Reuters the
bank can take further interest rate hikes off the table after a
"remarkable" fall in inflation.
In the United States, however, data on Tuesday showed factory
orders fell by more than analysts had expected in October and
the most in more than three years, raising concerns about the
health of U.S. demand.
That bolstered the view that increases to interest rates are
beginning to limit spending, analysts said.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover, Emily Chow and Colleen HoweEditing
by David Goodman)
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