NEW YORK, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices eked out modest gains on Tuesday as traders continued to assess major producers' output decision.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery rose 29 cents, or 0.36 percent, to settle at 80.71 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased 1 cent, or 0.01 percent, to close at 84.94 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
On Monday, both the WTI and Brent soared more than 6 percent, driven by a surprise move over the weekend by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+.
Several OPEC+ countries on Sunday unexpectedly announced additional crude output cuts of more than 1 million barrels per day from May.
It is "still too early to assess the impact that the latest production cut decision will have on the oil market, as it will probably influence not only supply but also demand," Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, the move "does generate upside risks for our year-end forecast for Brent," he said. ■
