... the highest since 2018...

... amid reports that ahead of the conclusion of today's OPEC, JMMC and OPEC+ meetings, Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed on a preliminary deal regarding raising oil output, one which will include a monthly oil output increase of less than 500k bpd to OPEC's current holdback of 5.8 million barrels until December-2021, which is less than the market consensus of 500kbp/d. Reuters adds that OPEC+ is also likely to ease oil output cuts by 2 million bpd between August and December, which suggest that OPEC+ is weighing inflation risks in the short-term, however by year-end the market is expected to be in a deficit of over 3mmb/d, which is why most banks have projected oil to rise above $85 toward the end of the second half.