Bloomberg Oil halted its advance after a four-day gain before OPEC meets on Thursday to decide on whether to prolong output cuts by the group and its partners. July futures dropped as much as 1 percent in New York after front-month prices on Monday capped a 4.3 percent increase over four sessions. Iraq backed a proposal to extend production curbs …

SINGAPORE / Reuters US President Donald Trump’s proposal to sell half of the United States’ strategic oil reserve surprised energy markets on Tuesday since it counters OPEC’s efforts to control supply in order to boost prices. The White House requested in its budget released late on Monday gradually selling off the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) starting in October 2018 …

BEIJING / Reuters Russia has kept its top spot as oil supplier to China, beating Saudi Arabia for the second month in row, as independent refiners scooped up more volumes before their first batch of quotas expire. Saudi Arabia and Russia, both vying for more market share in China, have said they support an oil cut extension until March 2018 …