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Brent crude futures for July delivery were up 62 cents, or 0.7%,
at $84.84 a barrel by 1050 GMT after touching their highest
since May 1 at $85.02.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for July were also up 62
cents, or 0.8%, at $80.45 after hitting their highest since May
1 at $80.62.
Both benchmarks had gained more than 1% on Tuesday.
Traders and analysts expect the OPEC+ group, comprising the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
allies including Russia, to keep voluntary production cuts of
about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in place.
"We see no appetite at this juncture to add more barrels to the
market and trigger another price move to the downside," said RBC
Capital analyst Helima Croft.
"The current price level is already causing several producers to
take on additional debt and push out timelines for some
high-profile projects."
The onset of the northern hemisphere summer season, when demand
for road an aviation fuels peaks, was also supporting prices.
"Initial data suggest a relatively high number of U.S. holiday
trips have been taken over the Memorial Day holiday, the
traditional start of the driving season. Air travel has also
been strong," ANZ commodities strategist Daniel Hynes said in a
note.
Investors were awaiting U.S. crude inventory data from the
American Petroleum Institute later in the day. The release was
pushed back by a day because of the Memorial Day holiday on
Monday.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have fallen by about
1.9 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed
on Tuesday.
Investors are also awaiting Friday's U.S. core personal
consumption expenditures (PCE) price index report for April due
on Friday.
The Fed's preferred inflation barometer is expected to hold
steady on a monthly basis, which could sway expectations for
interest rate cuts and affect oil prices.
Expectations for the timing of rate cuts have see-sawed, with
policymakers wary of sticky inflation.
(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Additional reporting by Deep Vakil
in Bengaluru and Mohi Narayan in New Delhi; Editing by David
Goodman)
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