Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as supply cuts by OPEC+ countries outweighed concerns about a weak global economic outlook. A weaker US dollar also provided support.
Brent crude rose 0.4% to $77.99 a barrel and US WTI crude was up 0.5% at $73.34 a barrel. Supply cuts announced by major exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia boosted prices.
Saudi Arabia's extension of voluntary output cuts for an additional month until August totalled 1.5% of global supply. Russia said it would reduce exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August, increasing the OPEC+ reduction target to 5.16 million barrels perday.
The weaker US dollar also spurred demand for dollar-denominated oil as it makes crude cheaper for buyers with other currencies. The dollar fell to a two-month low.
However, analysts noted oil benchmarks dropped 1% on Monday due to concerns about additional Federal Reserve interest rate hikes potentially hurting demand.
While some Fed officials pushed for a rate hike at the latest meeting, minutes showed many believe the current monetary policy tightening cycle is nearing its end. This reassured markets.
Analyst Edward Moya said "oil has found a floor" but a "scorching hot" US inflation reading could force the Fed to hike rates aggressively, pushing the economy into recession and hitting oil demand.
The latest US consumer price inflation data, due Wednesday, will show how much progress the Fed has made in taming inflation.
