Mubasher: Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to extend oil production cuts to the first quarter of next year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Oil prices were supported by earlier reports of the decision of the producer club and non-affiliated partners including Russia, an alliance known also as OPEC+.

However, while the move aims to shore up oil markets, prices are not expected to surge dramatically as major producers that do not cooperate with the OPEC+ grouping, like the US, have already sufficient capacity to meet the estimated growth in global demand.

Ahead of the OPEC meeting which was slated for 1 and 2 July, it was widely expected that the alliance would roll over the supply curbs at least to the second half of this year.

The agreement needs to be approved by non-OPEC producers on a meeting on Tuesday, yet Russia, a major non-affiliated ally, indicated its willingness to cooperate with production cuts.

By 7:43 am GMT, US Nymex crude futures edged up by 0.10% to $59.15 per barrel (pb), while Brent futures rose by 0.29% to $65.25 pb.