Oil little changed despite talk of possible OPEC+ supply boost | Reuters

Oil little changed despite talk of possible OPEC+ supply boost | Reuters

Oil prices ended little changed on Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions and tight global supplies supported the market even as some speculated that OPEC+ might boost supplies more than expected.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, has been expected to decide at a monthly meeting on Wednesday tokeep gradually increasing production. But Goldman Sachs said there was a chance the oil market's rally would prompt a faster ramp-up.

On Friday, crude benchmarks hit their highest prices since October 2014, with Brent touching $91.70 and U.S. crude hitting $88.84. They gained about 17% in January on a supply shortage, political tensions in the Middle East and between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

Still, sources said an OPEC+ technical panel meeting on Tuesday did not discuss a hike of more than the expected 40,000 barrels per day from March.

OPEC undershot its promised output boost in January, a Reuters survey found, and other analysts expected the rally to persist.

"The Saudis will likely avoid any major adjustments as they have proven adept in recent years at treading a fine line in manoeuvring global pricing in their preferred direction," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates LLC in Galena, Illinois.

Brent crude settled down 10 cents, or 0.1%, at $$89.16 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5 cents to $88.20.