Oil hits two-year high ahead of Opec+ meet

Brent soared to a two-year high on June 1 of $71.27/b, amid expectations that the OPEC+ cartel will agree to keep its production policy for the coming months unchanged.

Oil ministers from the group of producers are due to meet later today, although expectations are that they will stick to the current plan of gradually easing supply cuts over the next few months rather than bringing back barrels more rapidly. In April they decided to restore 2.1mn b/d of production between May and July.

"Oil prices today are rising as the market is getting increasingly confident that demand is reaching the end of the recovery tunnel, with strong usage indications coming globally, from the US to China," Rystad Energy analyst Louise Dickson wrote in a research note. "Doubling the demand enthusiasm, today's OPEC+ meeting is expected to leave the group's policy unchanged, leaving the supply comeback plan unchanged through July."

At time of press time, Brent was at $71.11/b, up 2.6% from the previous day's close, while West Texas Intermediate was up 3.47% at $68.63/b.