Oil prices surge due to OPEC+ production cuts and US ‎inventories decline ‎

Oil prices rose in early Asian trading today, Wednesday, due to a decline in US crude inventories and the latest cut in production targets for OPEC+ alliance.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures rose 38 cents to $85.32 a barrel at 0021 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 33 cents to $81.04 a barrel

Prices received support from what sources quoted from the American Petroleum Institute data on Tuesday, which showed a decrease in US crude stocks by about 4.3 million barrels in the week ending March 31.

Gasoline stocks fell by about four million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by about 3.7 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The official inventory report by the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, is due at 1430 GMT on Wednesday.

Recent targets set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, also helped push up oil prices.

The OPEC + plan will increase the total volume of cuts to 3.66 million barrels per day, including a cut of two million barrels last October, equivalent to approximately 3.7 percent of global demand.