LONDON: World oil prices rose on Tuesday as investors awaited an OPEC output decision and the outcome of Federal Reserve's latest interest rate meeting, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for January added 77 cents to $108.78 per barrel in late morning deals in London.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, or West Texas Intermediate (WTI), won 51 cents to $86.30 a barrel.
"Crude oil prices continued their strong upside momentum and extended gains on Wednesday ... with all eyes on the OPEC meeting decisions," said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.
The 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) -- which covers 35 percent of global demand for crude -- appeared set to hold its oil production ceiling at 30 million barrels per day (mbpd).
The influential cartel will also choose a new secretary-general but there was uncertainty over who would assume the key role.
"Trading volumes are thin ahead of OPEC's policy statement ... with some support from firmer equities," VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov told AFP.
He added: "The exporting group is widely anticipated to roll its 30-mbpd target while still supplying 1-1.5mbpd above its target at the start of 2013, so a muted market reaction (is) most likely."
Crude futures also rose Wednesday after news of a drop in OPEC production in November and ahead of the wrap-up of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting, expected to expand its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme.
OPEC had said on Tuesday that its production fell by 210,000 barrels per day in November. However, the cartel left its 2012 and 2013 oil demand forecasts unchanged from the prior month.
Later on Wednesday, meanwhile analysts expect the US central bank will announce an additional purchase of $45 billion bonds each month and allow the Operation Twist program to expire as scheduled at year-end.
Separately, the IEA said that global thirst for oil will be slightly stronger than expected in the last quarter of this year and in 2013 largely because of rising demand in China and despite a sharp cutback in Europe recently.
It revised slightly up its outlook for demand next year but said the trend would be "relatively sluggish" against a background of "tepid" growth of the global economy and despite signs that "Chinese sentiment has turned mildly positive."
The Paris-based International Energy Agency raised its estimate for global demand in the last three months of the year by 435,000 barrels per day to 90.5 million barrels per day.
This led it to increase fractionally its estimate for demand growth for all of 2012.
The growth of global demand in 2013 was now put at 865,000 bpd, taking consumption to 90.5 mbd or 110,000 bpd more than forecast last month.
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