US oil ticks up for 2nd day on record Opec cut

SINGAPORE: US crude oil edged higher for a second day on Tuesday, underpinned by high compliance with Opec’s production cuts even as the market remains anchored by rising US production.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has so far surprised the market by showing record compliance with oil-output curbs, and could improve in coming months as the biggest laggards — the United Arab Emirates and Iraq — pledge to catch up quickly with their targets.

“With the prospect of Opec extending the current cuts even longer, we would expect to see prices continue to push higher from here,” ANZ said in a note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $54.16 a barrel by 0337 GMT, while benchmark Brent crude oil added 17 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $56.10 a barrel.

Advertisement For the month, US crude oil is up 2.6 per cent after falling in January, while Brent oil has risen marginally.

Under the deal, Opec agreed to curb output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 1, the first cut in eight years.

Russia and 10 other non-Opec producers agreed to cut around half as much.

A survey of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries production later this week will show compliance for February