Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose $2.78, or 2.6 percent, to $62.84 a barrel by 8:47 a.m. ET (1347 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $2.17, or 4.2 percent, at $53.66 per barrel.
OPEC is holding talks with other oil-producing nations including Russia at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The alliance is currently aiming to take 1.2 million to 1.3 million barrels per day off the market, according to reports from Reuters and Dow Jones.
By Friday afternoon in Vienna, sources were giving conflicting reports to news agencies about the specifics of the deal.
✅ Russia earlier agreed to cut output by 200,000 barrels per day.
The 15-member OPEC cartel was targeting a cut of roughly 800,000 barrels per day and asking allies to cut 400,000 bpd. Meanwhile, sources told Down Jones OPEC was considering cutting 750,000 to 800,000 barrels per day and asking partners to contribute enough to bring the reductions to 1.3 million bpd.
