Oil futures climbed sharply on Monday, with U.S. prices up more than 5% as traders bet that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies will agree later this week to cut production on concerns over a slowdown in the economy that would hurt demand for oil. News reports said the group of producers, known as OPEC+, may consider a reduction of more than 1 million barrels per day or more. A production cut would “reinforce a message from Saudi Arabia and other key producers that they are prepared to take action in order to prevent further price declines,” said Robbie Fraser, global research and analytics manager at Schneider Electric. November WTI crude rose $4.14, or 5.2%, to settle at $83.63 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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