Oil rallies over 3% as dollar dips, OPEC's meeting proceeds

Oil futures surged in American trade as the dollar index fell off November 14 highs, while OPEC proceeds with its meeting in Vienna with outside producers. 

As of 07:39 GMT, US crude futures due on July 15 rose 4.58% to $68.54 a barrel from the opening of $65.54, while Brent July futures rose 3.45% to $75.57 a barrel from the opening of $73.05, as the dollar index fell 0.36% to 94.52 from the opening of 94.86. 

Mixed US Data 

Earlier US data showed the preliminary reading for the services PMI down to 56.5 in June from 56.8 in May, beating forecasts of 54.9, while the manufacturing PMI slipped to 54.6 from 56.4, missing forecasts of 56.3. 

All Eyes On OPEC 

Representatives from 13 OPEC members and 11 independent producers have convened in Vienna, with the oil cartel leaning towards increasing output by one million bpd to avoid potential market shortages. 

US Ramps Up Production   

Baker Hughes reported an increase of a single rig in the US oil rig count last week, the fourth in a row, to a total of 863 rigs, the highest since March 2015. 

US production is now up 29% from mid-2016 levels to a total of 10.90 million bpd, passing Saudi Arabia's 10 million bpd, and nearing Russia's 11.1 million bpd.