Oil trailed slightly higher after Reuters announced that OPEC+ decided to maintain its current production increase of 400,000 barrels per day, but the gains were quickly erased.

The statements from yesterday's technical meeting showed that the cartel does not see a big impact from the Omicron variant, as countries are reluctant to impose blockades, so today's decision was not a surprise.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ also forecasts oversupply in the coming quarters if it maintains its monthly production increases, although the full-year surplus estimated at 1.4 million bpd is lower than last month's forecast of 1.7 million bpd. Meanwhile, Libya has begun maintenance on a ruptured pipeline that will shut off 200,000 bpd of production.

However, oil traders will now be focused on the release of the API report on oil inventories which will be released in the evening (21:40). The market expects a 3.4 mb drop in oil stocks.