Oil prices rose on Wednesday, erasing their earlier losses, as the OPEC+ group of producers braced for a small production increase of 100,000 barrels a day, according to a document seen by Reuters, dashing U.S. hopes. of a significant increase in supply.
* Brent crude futures were up 78 cents, or 0.8%, at $101.32 a barrel by 1150 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 94 cents, or 1%, at $95.36 a barrel.
* First-month Brent futures premium to barrels to be loaded six months from now is at its lowest level in three months, signaling concerns about current supply shortages are easing .
* Ministers from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, are set to agree to a small increase in production, equivalent to about 0.1% of global demand. of oil, according to a document.
* Although the United States has asked the group to increase output, spare capacity is limited and Saudi Arabia may be reluctant to raise output at the expense of its OPEC+ partner Russia, hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
* Before the meeting, OPEC+ cut its forecast for an oil market surplus this year by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 800,000 bpd, three delegates told Reuters.
* Meanwhile, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed US crude stocks rose by about 2.2 million barrels in the week ending July 29. Gasoline inventories fell by 200,000 barrels and distillate inventories by about 350,000 barrels.
* Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released at 1430 GMT.