At the start of a fresh trading week, WTI crude oil is trading somewhat cautious, with prices slipping lower, in anticipation of the OPEC+ meeting as traders hope for extension of deeper supply cuts. At the time of writing. WTI crude oil is trading at around $44.93 per barrel.

Despite the wait and watch approach in early trading on Monday, crude oil prices are set to post a gain of over 20% so far this month – marking the highest increase in prices seen since May. Oil markets started trading optimistic a couple of weeks ago over reports from pharmaceutical companies announcing effective vaccines against COVID-19.

As the successful rollout of vaccines could take several months, it will be some time before this boosts a recovery in oil demand and the global economy as well. Meanwhile, traders are eagerly waiting for the leading oil producing nations to take a call on extending their deeper supply cuts beyond the end of this year to offset weakness in oil demand.

A few months ago, OPEC and its allies had agreed to cut oil production by 5.5 million bpd until the end of 2020 and then extend production by 2 million bpd starting 2021. The OPEC+ meeting will conclude on Tuesday, following which an optimistic decision could send crude oil prices higher.