09:11 AM EDT, 06/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices rose early on Monday on expectations higher summer demand will winnow inventories after OPEC+ earlier this month extended 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts to the end of September.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery was last seen up US$0.81 to US$76.34 per barrel, while August Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$0.79 to US$80.41.

Prices last week dropped 1.8% after OPEC+ said it expects to begin rolling back the voluntary production cuts in the fourth quarter if market conditions are amenable. However, the focus is moving to the impact of extending the cuts through the high-demand summer driving season.

"The move was greeted with a selling spree although the alliance was at pains to emphasize that the ultimate decision will depend on market conditions, i.e. on the price," PVM Oil Associates said. Notwithstanding this move, it is not an unrealistic expectation to see global and OECD stocks decline in the third and the fourth quarter of the year."

Goldman Sachs said it expects Brent to average US$86.00 per barrel in the third quarter as it sees global inventories falling by 1.3-million barrels per day on higher summer demand, while UBS also expects to see inventories declining in coming weeks, according to a Reuters report.

The rise comes ahead of fresh demand forecasts from OPEC and the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday, with the International Energy Agency releasing its monthly Oil Market report on Wednesday.

"The market will be monitoring monthly oil market reports from OPEC and IEA for any signs of demand growth downgrades to help justify the recent price slump which has seen hedge funds cut bullish Brent bets to a ten-year low," Saxo Bank noted.