Oil prices rise as Opec prepares to set new output targets

Oil prices rise as Opec prepares to set new output targets

Oil prices have risen before Thursday’s meeting of the Opec cartel of oil-producing nations, as ministers prepare to set output targets for July in their first gathering since the EU imposed sanctions on Russian crude.

Opec is under pressure from some members to exclude Russia, the world’s third largest oil producer, from future quotas, in a move that could pave the way for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to pump more oil.

The price of futures for Brent crude oil, the North Sea benchmark, rose by 2% at one point on Wednesday to $117 a barrel. Its North American counterpart, West Texas Intermediate, rose by a similar amount to just shy of $116 a barrel. Prices had fallen back from highs of over $125 earlier in the week, but bounced again as investors weighed how far production could be increased to counter the effect of sanctions.