Opec and its Russia-led allies agreed on Thursday to increase their crude output by a small amount from next month, providing a small boost to the depressed tanker market.

The group of major producers – known as Opec+ – will hike production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) and adjust their production level monthly from February onwards.

Tanker sources said the incremental volume will likely be shipped to consuming nations rather than enter floating storage, lifting tanker demand slightly.