Oil rises after Saudis refute reports of increased OPEC+ supplies

A day after Saudi Arabia denied a media report that it was considering an increase in oil supply with OPEC and its allies, oil prices modestly increased in early Asian trade on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $87.62 by 0007 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for January began trading Tuesday, rising 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.11 a barrel.

Following news that an increase of up to 500,000 barrels per day would be taken into consideration at the OPEC+ meeting on December 4, both benchmarks had fallen by more than $5 a barrel in the previous session, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Prices rebounded quickly in full after Saudi Arabian energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom is sticking with output cuts and not discussing a potential oil output increase with other OPEC oil producers, state news agency SPA reported, denying the WSJ report.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Allies (OPEC+) recently lowered their production goals, and this month Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader, was quoted as saying that the group will continue to be cautious about oil production due to the uncertainty surrounding the world economy.

WTI flipped into contango last week, reflecting lessening supply concerns, while the front-month Brent crude futures spread shrunk noticeably.

Rising Covid-19 cases in China capped market gains as the country battles outbreaks nationwide that are nearing April peaks.