Oil rises amid expected OPEC cuts

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday amid expectations of tighter supplies after Washington imposed further sanctions to restrict Iranian oil trade and amid pledges by some OPEC countries to cut production further to compensate for earlier exceeding agreed quotas.

Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.19 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 44 cents, or 0.7%, to $62.91 a barrel.

Both contracts settled 2% higher on Wednesday, reaching their highest levels since April 3, and are on track for their first weekly gain in three. Thursday will be the last settlement day of the week before the Good Friday and Easter holidays. The Trump administration issued new sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports on Wednesday, including against a small, independent refinery based in China, increasing pressure on Tehran amid talks over its nuclear program.

Supply concerns grew after OPEC said on Wednesday it had received updated plans for Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other countries to make further production cuts to compensate for previously pumping above quotas.

However, OPEC, the International Energy Agency, and several banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, this week lowered their forecasts for oil prices and demand growth following disruptions caused by US tariffs and other countries’ retaliation.

The World Trade Organization said it expects trade in goods to fall by 0.2% this year, after forecasting a 3.0% expansion in October.