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Bloomberg
Oil traded near $50 a barrel in New York before data forecast to show a third weekly drop in US crude inventories, while Saudi Arabia said it will sell customers considerably less crude than they’re asking for.
Futures rose 0.8 percent after advancing 0.6 percent, rebounding from a weekly loss. Crude stockpiles probably slid by 750,000 barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report due on Thursday.
Oil last week fell the most since May on speculation rising global output may offset supply curbs led by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The output-cuts deal is set to expire at the end of March and the group is likely to discuss an extension at its next meeting on November 30.
West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was at $49.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 37 cents, at 11:15 a.m. London time. Total volume traded was about 33 percent below the 100-day average. Prices climbed 29 cents to $49.58 on Monday after falling 4.6 percent last week.
Brent for December settlement advanced 40 cents to $56.19 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, and traded at a $5.89 premium to WTI for the same month. The global benchmark crude rose 17 cents to $55.79 on Monday after falling 3.3 percent last week.
Libya’s Sarir oilfield starts operations
BENGHAZI / Reuters
A power substation at Libya’s Sarir oilfield that was damaged by fire in January has been replaced, allowing for a production boost of 26,000 barrels per day (bpd), the company operating the field said. Workers finished installing the substation on Saturday and production was expected to rise in the next few days said Youssef Amreemi, an official from Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), a subsidiary of Libya’s National Oil Corporation.