The market is convinced OPEC will take action next week Getty ImagesWill OPEC take action to cut supply next week? The market thinks so.Crude-oil futures extended overnight gains in Asian trade Friday on growing confidence that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will take action to cut some supply at next week’s meeting. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January CLF5, +0.38% traded at $76.09 a barrel, up $0.24 in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.22 to $79.55 a barrel. Brent crude has been pushing towards the $80 mark since the last trading session despite weak economic data from China and Europe. However, moderate trading volumes suggest traders are reluctant to make new commitments ahead of the OPEC summit on Nov. 27, analyst Tim Evans at Citi Futures said. Another key event on next week’s calendar is the Nov. 24 deadline for the expiry of Iran’s nuclear agreement. “Although the market has been less focused on the Iranian nuclear talks, we should note that a breakthrough in talks that lifts sanctions would add to the wider market sense of oversupply, putting additional pressure on other producers to make room for additional Iranian output,” Mr. Evans said. Other supportive elements for energy markets include stronger refinery operating rates and stronger fuel demand as winter approaches, kickstarted by an early cold wave in the U.S. The U.S. winter of 2013 saw a 78.5% increase in natural gas prices from November to February, and an 8.7% increase in crude oil prices from November to December, OCBC economist Barnabas Gan said. He expects West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude to regain some lost ground to $80 a barrel and $85 a barrel respectively by year-end. Meanwhile, China disclosed the exact size of the first phase of its strategic petroleum reserves for the first time at 91 million barrels across four sites. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for December RBZ4, +0.28% --the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 112 points to $2.0388 a gallon, while December diesel traded at $2.3869, 69 points higher. ICE gasoil for December changed hands at $701.00 a metric ton, up $5.25 from Thursday’s settlement. marketwatch