Oil prices edge higher ahead of OPEC+ meeting

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Oil prices eked out modest gains on Friday as traders awaited a key meeting from major oil producers.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery added 26 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 86.87 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery increased 66 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at 93.02 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are set to meet on Monday to discuss their future output strategy.

Last month, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister signaled that there is a disconnect between futures prices and fundamentals, and that OPEC+ has the means to deal with challenges including cutting production to restore market balance.

For the week, the U.S. crude benchmark and Brent lost roughly 6.6 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, based on the front-month contracts.