A fall in the US dollar has pushed oil futures above $US70 a barrel ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna.
The group of oil nations, which make up about 40% of world production, is expected to hold output steady, to keep prices stable at between $US68 and $US72 a barrel.
OPEC has left official output targets unchanged since it announced late last year a record cut of 4.2 million barrels per day from September 2008 production.
But as the oil market has recovered from a low of $US32.40 in December to this year's high of $75 hit in August, it has reduced compliance from a peak of around 80% of agreed cuts to less than 70%.
Apart from the falling greenback, the price is rising on the hope that an economic recovery is underway, and comments by the world's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia that prices are fair to both producers and consumers.
International benchmark US oil futures climbed over $US3 to more than $US71 a barrel on Tuesday.
