NEW YORK: Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, boosted by the US Federal Reserve signalling a possible start to interest rate cuts in coming months.

Brent crude futures were up 61 cents at $81.16 a barrel at 11:23 a.m. EST (1623 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 62 cents to $76.47. There was limited immediate price impact after two OPEC+ sources said the group would decide in March whether or not to extend voluntary oil production cuts in place for the first quarter, after a ministerial panel meeting made no changes to the group’s output policy.

OPEC+ currently has 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of voluntary oil production cuts, announced last November. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said interest rates had peaked and would move lower in coming months, with inflation continuing to fall and an expectation of sustained economic growth.

Lower interest rates and economic growth help oil demand. Powell declined to promise that rate cuts would come as early as the Fed’s March 19-20 meeting, as investors had hoped. The US also released on Thursday data showing worker productivity grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter, keeping unit labour costs contained and giving the Fed another boost in the fight against inflation. US manufacturing stabilized in January amid a rebound in new orders, but inflation at the factory gate picked up.