Oil nudges higher as OPEC+, traders shrug off India demand slow down

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – Crude oil futures edged cautiously higher Tuesday, but were off from the highs after the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) rubber stamped the proposed output increases starting from May -- despite the wave of coronavirus cases sweeping through India.

While Indian demand is expected to fall sharply in May, the OPEC+ decision would suggest that it does not see it as a long-lasting issue, and it is just a blip in the global demand recovery outlook rather derailing forecasts for the remainder of Q2 and beyond.

Brent futures for June were trading at $65.80/barrel in late London trading at (1548GMT), compared to Monday's settle of $65.65/b, having reached an intraday high of $66.45/b on reports OPEC+ was considering deferring the production increases.

At the same time, June WTI was trading at $62.43, up $0.52/b from Monday's settlement of $61.91/b.