Global prices for crude oil went up on Tuesday ahead of the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for on July 1. At 13:45 GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained 1.03 percent to reach $75.45 a barrel. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $73.76, up 1.17 percent. The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $74.19 a barrel with 0.13 percent increase, Arab Light was available at $74.04 a barrel with 1.37 percent decrease, while the price of Russian Sokol reached $74.04 after shedding 1.61 percent. According to analysts, crude prices climbed to their highest since October 2018 on expectations that demand growth will outstrip supply and OPEC+ will be cautious in returning more crude to the market from August. They said that the discount of US benchmark WTI to Brent now sits at $2, compared to $10 at the last peak in 2018. As American demand picks up while production remains subdued, there is less incentive to export surplus crude.