Oil edged above $71 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by falling Venezuelan and Iranian exports and fighting in Libya that raised concerns of more supply threats, outweighing expectations of higher U.S. inventories.
Oil fell on Monday after comments from Russia raised concern the OPEC-led supply-cutting pact may not be renewed.
Russia and the producer group may decide to boost output to fight for market share with the United States, TASS news agency сited Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia, an alliance known as OPEC+, have been cutting output since Jan. 1. They decide in June whether to continue the arrangement.
“There is a growing concern that Russia will not agree on extending production cuts and we could see them officially abandon it in the coming months,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
