Brent jumps above $53 for first time since March 2020 ahead of OPEC+ decisions

Brent crude continued to rally as the US market opened on Monday, to trade above $53 a barrel for the first time since March 2020, ahead of the OPEC-Plus meeting, amid expectations that the global coalition won't increase output February.

Brent crude rose 3.6% to the highest since March at $53.30 a barrel, after opening at $51.46, and hit a low of $51.40.

Brent crude futures gained 0.5% on Thursday, the third straight daily gain thanks to good news about coronavirus vaccines.

Brent crude futures lost 22% during 2020, the largest annual loss since 2015, due to the coronavirus pandemic that has sharply impacted the global demand for fuel.

OPEC-Plus will hold a joint ministerial committee meeting on Monday to discuss new developments in the market, and to review members' compliance with implementing their cuts shares during February.

OPEC-Plus agreed on early December to increase output by 500,000 barrels per day starting from January 2021, and agreed to hold a monthly ministerial meeting to review the market situation and adjust production levels accordingly.

OPEC-Plus also agreed on April that the third phase of the cut agreement will be lowered to 5.7 million bpd starting from January 2021 to April 2022.

The new decision replaces the planned hike of 2 million barrels, and the total of the new cuts is about 7.2 million barrels per day.

This comes as coronavirus infections continue to rise as the second wave of infections spreads in most parts of the world, which is expected to hit the global demand for fuel further and will lead OPEC-Plus to keep the current production levels unchanged in February.