Oil stocks pushed the FTSE 100 Index forward today during a less than slick session for London shares.
By lunchtime, the Footsie was ahead 18.3 points at 5195.7, although trading volumes were predictably thin in the first trading day after Christmas.
Shell and BP provided much of the interest for those traders working at half empty trading floors today.
Speculation that OPEC will announce output cuts of 1.5 million a barrels a day helped push crude oil prices towards the 21 US dollars a barrel mark.
The developments, due to be confirmed tomorrow, helped Shell move 3p ahead at £4.78 and lifted BP by 2p to £5.32.
Prospects for a strong opening on Wall Street this afternoon - following an upbeat close to business last night - helped sentiment.
Stocks on Wall Street benefited yesterday from better-than-expected festive sales reports by retail giant Wal-Mart and internet firm Yahoo.
The telecoms sector was among areas performing well in London, with mobile phone group mm02 ahead at £0.88 and rival Vodafone up 2p at £1.81. Cable & Wireless also picked up 2p at £3.22 and BT Group gained a penny at £2.49.
However, there were mixed messages from the retail sector, with some supermarkets faring well as the City awaits reports from the most important trading season of the year.