Oil jumps on hopes Libya will join supply-cut deal; API data ahead
Investing.com - Oil prices were sharply higher in North American trade on Tuesday, as news that Libya will attend a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Russia later this month provided support.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude August contract was at $46.74 a barrel by 8:55AM ET (1255GMT), up 72 cents, or around 1.6%. It touched its highest since July 5 at $47.14 earlier.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for September delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London tacked on 77 cents, or about 1.6%, to $49.18 a barrel, after touching a two-week peak of $49.41.
Oil prices finished with a loss on Monday, their first in six sessions, as concerns over rising global supplies remained on investors' minds.
The head of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Tuesday he would lead a Libyan delegation to a meeting of global crude producers in St Petersburg, Russia on July 22 to share his country's production plans.
That prompted speculation that the North African nation could join a global pact to reduce production.
In May, OPEC and some non-OPEC producers extended a deal to cut 1.8 million barrels per day in supply until March 2018. So far, the agreement has had little impact on global inventory levels due to rising supply from producers not participating in the accord, such as Libya and Nigeria.
Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (2030GMT) later on Tuesday. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of around 3.7 million barrels.
Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for August gained 2.3 cents, or 1.5%, to $1.581 a gallon, while August heating oil was up 2.1 cents to $1.520 a gallon.
Natural gas futures for August delivery climbed 5.9 cents to $3.079 per million British thermal units, as updated weather forecasting models pointed to increased summer demand in the weeks ahead.
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