The world's biggest oil producers will hold a crucial meeting tomorrow to decide how much crude they might add to the market from September.
It comes just weeks after US President Joe Biden travelled to Saudi Arabia in a bid to personally convince the country to pump more barrels and help cool soaring prices.
The continued high price of oil has driven up the cost of living in many countries.
The BBC says the White House is hoping the 13 core members of the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will decide to boost oil supplies. But that is not a given.
Saudi Arabia is the biggest single producer in the body and, after meeting with Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, President Biden said he expects supply to increase.
However, Saudi officials have also stressed any decision to increase supplies would be done in consultation with Opec+.
Opec+ is a wider group of 23 oil-exporting countries including Russia.
Turning the taps on
But agreeing to turn the taps on full may not be as easy as it sounds, as some countries are already struggling to meet their existing monthly supply targets.
Simultaneously, Russian supplies have also dropped due to western sanctions.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates do have some spare capacity.
The former’s production target for August however, is 11million barrels of oil per day, which energy experts suggest is already at a very high level, leaving little wiggle room for more increases.
Perhaps weighing more heavily on the pair's decision though, may be uncertainty over energy demand in the coming months.
Rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and looming recession in many western countries could all seriously dent demand.
Experts think these factors may keep producers cautious and unwilling to increase their output dramatically.
So many unknowns
"The concern for Saudi Arabia and Opec+ is that there are so many unknowns. No one knows where the oil markets will be six months from now, or next year," said Karen Young, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC.
She added this means the Saudis and United Arab Emirates will want to use their spare supplies judiciously.
Brent crude futures were today ahead 0.25% at $100.28 a barrel.
Meanwhile, a new forecast out today says average domestic energy bills in Britain could hit more than £3,600 a year this winter.
Consultancy Cornwall Insight claims the typical gas and electricity bill in England, Wales and Scotland could reach £3,615 in the new year - hundreds of pounds more than previous predictions.
The UK Government has announced a package of measures to help households with the rising cost of living. However, some have called for more support for families.
The BBC says the average energy bill was £1,400 a year in October 2021. The last energy price cap increase in April 2022 saw that rise to £2,000.
FTSE 100
The UK's top share index, the FTSE 100, was down 21 points at 7,391 shortly after opening this morning, following yesterday's 10-point loss.
Companies reporting today
- Half-year results: Capital & Counties Properties, Coats Group, Direct Line. Domino's Pizza, Elementis, Fresnillo, Greggs, Keller, Rotork, Travis Perkins
- Q3 results: Sage, Virgin Money UK