Oil on the rise after OPEC+

Oil rose to a five-month high after OPEC+ confirmed it would maintain current supply cuts through the end of June. Brent crude was near $90 a barrel after rising more than 2% in the previous two sessions, while U.S. crude was near $86. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies did not recommend any policy changes at a meeting on Wednesday, which should help keep global markets tight for the next few months. But compliance with OPEC+ quota levels remains a challenge. Iraq pumped more oil than the target agreed in March but has vowed to rein in flows to compensate. Russia’s crude exports have also increased recently. “I expect OPEC production to fall further over the next two or three months,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Banking Group Ltd., told Bloomberg Television. Members emerged from the OPEC+ meeting “talking about sticking to those quotas more closely,” referring to the group’s previously agreed cuts. The global benchmark crude index has risen about 16 percent this year, amid tightening supplies, shipping disruptions and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries. There are signs of picking up demand in Asia; Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that a rate cut in the U.S. this year is still likely, even as the central bank awaits clearer signs of lower inflation. U.S. crude inventories nationwide rose by 3.21 million barrels last week, contradicting an industry group’s forecast for a decline in inventories. But gasoline stocks fell by the most since March, sending futures and prices higher for American drivers.