Brent, WTI gain as much as 2 before paring gains
OPEC sticks to plans to cut production by 2 mln bpd
More Chinese cities relax COVID19 restrictions

SINGAPORE, Dec 5 Reuters Oil prices edged up on Monday after OPEC nations held their output targets steady ahead of a European Union ban and a price cap kicking in on Russian crude.

At the same time, in a positive sign for fuel demand, more Chinese cities eased COVID19 curbs over the weekend, though the partial easing in policies sowed confusion across the country on Monday.

While prices rose as much as 2 earlier in the day, both the Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI contracts have since pared some gains. Brent crude futures were last up 49 cents, or 0.6, to 86.06 a barrel at 0700 GMT, while WTI crude futures gained 51 cents, or 0.6, to 80.49 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC and allies including Russia, together called OPEC, agreed on Sunday to stick to their October plan to cut output by 2 million barrels per day bpd from November through 2023.

Analysts said the OPEC decision was expected as major producers wait to see the impact of the EU import ban and Group of Seven G7 60abarrel price cap on seaborne Russian oil, with Russia threatening to cut supply to any country adhering to the cap.

While OPEC remained steady on output over the weekend, I expect they will continue to balance the market, said Baden Moore, head of commodity research at National Australia Bank….