© Archyde.com. A pump operates in an oil field outside the Somme-Sou region in France in this photo from Archyde.com archive.
SINGAPORE (Archyde.com) – It rose in early Asian trading on Monday, supported by expectations of production cuts targeted by OPEC + starting in May, but gains were limited by concerns regarding the global economic outlook.
Crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to 85.25 a barrel by 2356 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $80.84 a barrel.
The two benchmarks rose last week for the third week in a row, returning to levels not seen in the market since November following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies surprised investors by announcing more production cuts starting from May.
Prices got a boost following data on Thursday showed the number of US oil rigs cut by two, to 158, in a sign that US production will not rise in the near term.
(Prepared by Hassan Ammar for the Arabic Bulletin)