Investing.com - Oil prices rebounded from overnight lows on Wednesday, but concerns over hurdles facing a planned output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries checked gains.
U.S. crude oil was trading at $51.17 a barrel at 09:44 GMT, up 26 cents or 0.51% from its last close, after falling as low as $47.04 earlier.
Global benchmark Brent futures were at $54.20 a barrel, up 23 cents or 0.45%, having hit intra-day lows of $53.35.
Oil prices ended down more than 1.5% on Tuesday as traders took profits after a sharp rally that followed OPEC’s agreement last week to cut output for the first time in eight years.
The deal will see the producer cartel cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day and will take effect from January 2017.
The agreement also included coordinated action with non-OPEC members, including Russia, who are expected to decrease production by 600,000 bpd.
Russia has pledged to “gradually” reduce production by 300,000 bpd next year.
But doubts have emerged over how effective the cuts will be at reducing massive oversupply that has pressured prices lower for more than two years.
Oil production has been outstripping consumption by between one to two million bpd since late 2014.
Both OPEC and Russia have reported that output hit record highs since the deal was announced, adding to fears that the global supply overhang could persist well into 2017.
Investors are turning their attention towards a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC members in Vienna on December 10 to finalize the details of the agreement.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said OPEC's deal to cut production will go ahead even if only non-OPEC Russia commits to reduce output at the meeting.
But some analysts have warned that the cuts are likely to cause other producers, particularly U.S. shale drillers, to quickly ramp up output as prices rise.
Analysts are also doubtful over how the agreement will be enforced, as OPEC has no authority to make its members comply with quotas.
Investors were looking ahead to the weekly report on U.S. crude stockpiles from the Energy Information Administration later Wednesday for fresh supply and demand signals.