Oil Price Hits 2018 High Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

Oil prices climbed to highs last seen in October 2018 on Monday as investors eyed the outcome of this week's OPEC+ meeting.

Prices were also supported by the debate between Iran and the U.S. over the revival of a nuclear deal which is causing a delay in the surge of Iranian oil exports.

Brent crude for August climbed as much as $76.40 a barrel as of 2:00 am WAT before easing to $76.02 this morning, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August touched $74.30 before recoiling to $73.93.

A weaker U.S. dollar and a reversal of risk appetite in global markets also supported dollar-denominated commodity prices.

Oil prices rose for a fifth week last week as fuel demand rebounded on strong economic growth and increased travel during summer in the northern hemisphere, while global crude supplies stayed snug as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies maintained production cuts.

The producer group, known as OPEC+, is returning 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) to the market from May through July as part of a plan to gradually unwind last year's record oil output curbs. OPEC+ meets on July 1 and could further ease supply cuts in August as oil prices rise on demand recovery.

Negotiations over the revival of Iran's nuclear deal are expected to resume in the coming days. A monitoring agreement between Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog lapsed last week.