Oil steady after hitting 3-week top as Saudi to keep output well below cap

London Brent crude slipped 3 cents to $67.28 a barrel, after climbing almost 4 percent last week

Reuters  |  Tokyo 

Oil hits highest since mid-2015, then dips

prices steadied on Monday after hitting their highest level in nearly three weeks, supported by comments from top exporter that it would continue to curb shipments in line with the OPEC-led effort to cut global supplies.

US Intermediate crude for April delivery was up 4 cents at $63.59 a barrel by 0804 GMT after rising 3 percent last week.

London Brent crude slipped 3 cents to $67.28 a barrel, after climbing almost 4 percent last week.

Both benchmarks earlier hit their highest since Feb. 7.

"The rise in equities made it easier to buy risk assets such as oil," said Tomomichi Akuta, at and Consulting in

"But amid worries over US crude production at near record highs, is struggling to make a move."

Prices were supported after Saudi Arabian minister on Saturday said the country's crude production in January-March would be well below output caps, with exports averaging below 7 million barrels per day.

hopes OPEC and its allies will be able to relax production curbs next year and create a permanent framework to stabilise markets after the current supply cut deal ends this year, Falih added.

"A study is taking place and once we know exactly what balancing the market will entail we will announce what is the next step.

The next step may be easing of the production constraints," he told reporters in

"My estimation is that it will happen sometime in 2019. But we don't know when and we don't know how".

US added one rig, the fifth weekly increase in a row, bringing the total count up to 799, the highest level since April 2015, firm said on Friday.

Hedge funds and money managers upped their bullish wagers on US for the first time in four weeks, data showed on Friday.

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea's Southern Highlands province early on Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, prompting and gas companies to immediately suspend operations in the

Meanwhile, Libya's Corp said on Saturday it had declared force majeure on the 70,000 bpd after a protest by guards closed the field.

First Published: Mon, February 26 2018. 23:11 IST
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