Investing.com - Oil prices pushed higher in European trade on Tuesday, after rallying sharply overnight as market players continued to monitor supply disruptions in Nigeria.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery rose to an intraday high of $50.70 a barrel. It last stood at $50.62 by 07:59GMT, or 3:59AM ET, up 7 cents, or 0.14%.
On Monday, London-traded Brent rallied 91 cents, or 1.83%, on reports of more attacks by militants to Nigeria oil operations.
Brent prices hit an eight-month peak of $50.96 in late May as unplanned supply disruptions in Africa eased concerns over a global glut. Brent futures prices are up by roughly 85% since briefly dropping below $30 a barrel in mid-February.
Elsewhere, crude oil for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 5 cents, or 0.1%, to trade at $49.74 a barrel.
New York-traded oil jumped $1.07, or 2.2%, on Monday, after industry group Genscape reported a drawdown of 1.08 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for WTI futures during the week to June 3.
Market players now looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products. The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 3.5 million barrels in the week ended June 3.
Nymex prices rallied to an eight-month high of $50.21 on May 26. U.S. crude futures are up nearly 80% since falling to 13-year lows at $26.05 on February 11 as a decline in U.S. shale production boosted sentiment.
However, with prices now at levels that make drilling economical for some firms, the rig count might start rising soon and the decline in U.S. production may slow.
Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. increased by nine last week to 325, ending three straight months of weekly declines.
The renewed gain in U.S. drilling activity fueled speculation that domestic production could be on the verge of rebounding in the weeks ahead, underlining worries over a supply glut.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the WTI crude contract stood at 88 cents a barrel, compared to a gap of 86 cents by close of trade on Monday.