Oil prices up as traders mull outcome of OPEC meeting on Friday

U.S. oil futures nudged a bit higher Tuesday as traders get distracted by the possible decrease of weekly U.S. crude supply and the outcome of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) meeting on Friday.

According to Market Watch, some market expects the crude inventories to drop for the first time after ten weeks. However, most believe that the OPEC will not come up with measures to address the glut of crude supplies in the world during the meeting. Meanwhile, the slow manufacturing growth in U.S. and China raises concerns on where the energy demand is headed.

The Week reported that oil prices was steady on November 30 as the U.S dollar slowed down from its sudden and rapid rise to a 13-year high. International benchmark Brent crude initially increased two per cent initially and settled just a bit lower in London. After that, it went back up overnight in China. Ultimately, it remained unchanged at $45 a barrel for the week.

Fox Business reported that the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate increased $0.10 to $41.81. Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude settled at $44.76 per barrel at 2:05 PM ET.

Copenhagen-based Global Risk Management oil analyst Michael Poulsen said, "We see a lot of positioning ahead of the OPEC meeting at the end of the week. That is sparking a lot of interest."

The American Petroleum Institute is expected to report its weekly petroleum supply data on Tuesday. The Energy Information Administration's report is on Wednesday. If crude inventories dropped for the week that ended on November 27, then that would be the first decrease EIA reported since September.

But all eyes are now on OPEC's meeting on Friday. Analysts said that tension among OPEC members is steadily becoming worse after Saudi Arabia announced November last year that it would focus on longer-term policy to defend market share than decreasing production to support prices.