FILE PHOTO: A pump jack operates in the Permian Basin oil production area near Wink, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo/File Photo
January 14, 2019
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices edged up on Monday, supported by ongoing supply cuts from producer club OPEC and Russia and by a drop in U.S. drilling activity.
International Brent crude oil futures were at $60.75 per barrel at 0040 GMT, up 27 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 22 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $51.81 a barrel.
Economic research firm TS Lombard said oil “prices are likely to stabilize around current levels and quite possibly drift upwards”, pointing to supply cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC allies, including Russia, as a fundamental driver.
Drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to Jan. 11, bringing the total count down to 873, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a weekly report on Friday.
However, TS Lombard said oil prices may not rise much higher as “the world economy is now slowing… limiting the scope for positive surprises in oil demand and hampering inventory reduction.”
(Reporting by Koustav Samanta in Singapore; editing by Richard Pullin)
