By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing -- Shares of energy majors were trading higher in Tuesday’s premarket, as indications of an accelerating economic recovery in large economies propelled oil prices beyond $70 a barrel ahead of a crucial OPEC+ meeting.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC), BP (NYSE:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDSa) were all up 1.5%-2% as the latest data from Europe and China pointed to a strong economic recovery.
By 7 AM ET, U.S. crude was up 3.2% at $68.42 a barrel, while Brent was up 2.3% at $70.99.
China’s May factory activity growth, at 52 as per National Bureau of Statistics, was its fastest in 2021 so far.
Eurozone manufacturing activity too expanded at a record pace in May, as IHS Markit's final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 63.1 in May from April's 62.9, the highest reading since the survey began in June 1997.
It suggests economic recovery in the world’s largest consumers of oil is well on track.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies like Russia and Malaysia, a grouping known as OPEC+, will meet later in the day. The cartel is expected to continue with its policy of gradually easing fuel supply curbs.
OPEC+ decided in April to return 2.1 million barrels per day of supply to the market from May to July, and the group’s Joint Technical Committee has forecast that stockpiles will fall by at least 2 million barrels a day from September through December.