Investing.com - Crude oil prices rose in Asia on Tuesday with investors awaiting supply reports this week for direction and the return of U.S. markets after a public holiday on Monday in a busy week for political risks with British PM Theresa May set to outline plans for Brexit and Donald Trump set to lay out broad themes for his presidency in his inauguration at the end of the week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February rose 0.31% to $52.53 a barrel, while March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange was last quoted up 0.05% to $55.70 a barrel.
Estimates on U.S. crude and refined product stocks by the American Petroleum Institute and official data from the U.s. Department of Energy will be released a day later this week because of a public holiday in the U.S. on Monday.
Overnight, oil prices declined on Monday, as investors await figures from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) later this week that will give further insight into demand and supply trends.
Last quarter's deal by OPEC members and several other large suppliers to reduce output by nearly 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017. Energy powers like Saudi Arabia and Russia eased back their output, but other producers have not been so vigilant, according to analysts.
Saudi Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said Monday in Abu Dhabi that production cuts will end by mid-year. But analysts suggest such actions may guarantee the rebuilding of surpluses, primarily, and that an oil glut will persist globally.
OPEC releases its monthly production data this Wednesday.
Analysts believe that the price of oil will be around the $55 a barrel-mark for the first quarter of 2017, until the true effect of the cuts are felt. Some hold out hope for $60 per barrel.