Investing.com – Crude oil futures rallied on Tuesday, recouping a portion of the previous day’s sharp drop as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later in the day and ahead of Wednesday’s OPEC meeting in Vienna.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD100.39 a barrel during early U.S. morning trade, rallying 2.67%.
It earlier rose by as much as 2.8% to trade at USD100.86 a barrel, the highest since December 8.
Crude prices found support as market sentiment recovered slightly after data showed an improvement in German economic sentiment and following a well-received Spanish bond auction.
The crude contract tumbled nearly 2% on Monday, amid growing fears over the possibility of a mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign debt after last week’s economic summit failed to ease market jitters.
Meanwhile, oil traders were looking ahead to Wednesday’s OPEC meeting in Vienna, where the group's members are scheduled to meet to review production quotas. The group has not changed output targets since January 2009.
Venezuela’s Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said earlier that OPEC's Gulf members should cut their excess oil production as output from Libya improves, but added that the cartel should maintain its official target.
His comments came after a meeting with Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi, who is also OPEC's president. Ghasemi said Monday that some OPEC members should reduce output to accommodate the return of shipments from Libya and gains in Iraqi supply.
Iran and Venezuela are seen as OPEC's traditional hawks, regularly calling on the cartel to cut production to boost oil prices and consequently their revenues.
The group failed to reach an agreement on quotas for the first time in at least 20 years at its June 8 meeting when a Saudi Arabia-backed proposal to boost output to make up for lost Libyan supply was rebuffed by Iran, Venezuela and four other countries.
Traders were also eyeing the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later in the day. The Fed was not expected to take any policy action, although further easing steps are seen as likely next year.
Meanwhile, markets were awaiting fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 2.0 million barrels last week, while gasoline supplies were forecast to increase by 1.0 million barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery rose 2.1% to trade at USD109.30 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD8.91 a barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD100.39 a barrel during early U.S. morning trade, rallying 2.67%.
It earlier rose by as much as 2.8% to trade at USD100.86 a barrel, the highest since December 8.
Crude prices found support as market sentiment recovered slightly after data showed an improvement in German economic sentiment and following a well-received Spanish bond auction.
The crude contract tumbled nearly 2% on Monday, amid growing fears over the possibility of a mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign debt after last week’s economic summit failed to ease market jitters.
Meanwhile, oil traders were looking ahead to Wednesday’s OPEC meeting in Vienna, where the group's members are scheduled to meet to review production quotas. The group has not changed output targets since January 2009.
Venezuela’s Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said earlier that OPEC's Gulf members should cut their excess oil production as output from Libya improves, but added that the cartel should maintain its official target.
His comments came after a meeting with Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi, who is also OPEC's president. Ghasemi said Monday that some OPEC members should reduce output to accommodate the return of shipments from Libya and gains in Iraqi supply.
Iran and Venezuela are seen as OPEC's traditional hawks, regularly calling on the cartel to cut production to boost oil prices and consequently their revenues.
The group failed to reach an agreement on quotas for the first time in at least 20 years at its June 8 meeting when a Saudi Arabia-backed proposal to boost output to make up for lost Libyan supply was rebuffed by Iran, Venezuela and four other countries.
Traders were also eyeing the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later in the day. The Fed was not expected to take any policy action, although further easing steps are seen as likely next year.
Meanwhile, markets were awaiting fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 2.0 million barrels last week, while gasoline supplies were forecast to increase by 1.0 million barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery rose 2.1% to trade at USD109.30 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD8.91 a barrel.