NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices advanced on Monday as investors are awaiting a key meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery added 87 cents, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 76.08 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery increased 1.2 dollars, or 1.5 percent, to close at 78.98 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
OPEC+ is set to meet on Tuesday via videoconference, where the oil alliance is expected to decide whether to continue increasing output in February.
For 2021, WTI and Brent both jumped more than 50 percent, with the U.S. benchmark posting its strongest percentage gain based on front-month contracts since 2009 and the global benchmark notching its biggest gain since 2016. Enditem