(Bloomberg) -- Oil is on track to gain for a sixth week as the OPEC+ producer bloc headed toward an agreement to extend output curbs by another month.
Futures in New York were little changed, after advancing 0.3% on Thursday. They are up more than 5% this week. After almost a week of wrangling, OPEC+ leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia have clinched a tentative deal with holdout member Iraq, according to a delegate. The pair were pushing Iraq to stop shirking its share of cuts and even to compensate for failure to comply with reductions in the past. The agreement, which is still to be ratified, means OPEC+ will extend its record production curbs for another month until the end of July.
Riyadh delayed the release of its July crude pricing until Sunday at the earliest, according to people with knowledge of the situation, as it awaited clarity on whether the production cuts would be extended.
It’s too early to write the obituary of the U.S. shale industry, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told a conference on Thursday, with a price rally back into the $40-$45 a barrel range likely to prompt a recovery. Higher prices have already spurred some producers to bring wells back online. EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG). and Parsley Energy (NYSE:PE) Inc. are preparing to ramp up production just weeks after turning off the taps.
Various U.S. government data sets including stockpiles, production, imports and exports are signaling that current official figures on at least some supplies are excessive. While it’s unclear where exactly the discrepancy lies, the difference could potentially signal a more bullish outlook for crude prices as they claw their way back after diving below zero in April.
Read: Oil Traders Ask Why U.S. Inventory Math Isn’t Adding Up
Other crude blends are also benefiting from the deepest production cuts in history. CPC Blend, a light oil that comes mostly from Western Kazkhstan, traded at about $38 a barrel on Wednesday, according to traders involved in that market. That compares with a low point of about $9 just six weeks ago.
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