Investing.com - US crude dipped slightly in Asia on Monday with a public holiday ahead in the US expected to keep trade quiet and investors noted new rumblings on a potential exit plan for OPEC-led output curbs.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for February delivery eased 0.08% to $64.25 a barrel. ICE Brent, the global benchmark, was last quoted up 0.78% to $69.80 a barrel.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday ministers from leading OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers could discuss the possibility of a smooth exit from a global oil output cut deal at a meeting in Oman week. "We see that the market is becoming balanced. We see that the market surplus is decreasing, but the market is not completely balanced yet and, of course, we need to continue monitoring the situation."
But Qatar energy minister Mohammed al-Sada said it is premature to discuss an exit strategy from a global oil supply-cutting pact, state news agency QNA reported on Saturday. Only when global oil inventories returned to the five-year average should work begin on an agreement suited to the market conditions, al-Sada said.
Elsewhere, Nigeria oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said on Friday his country's crude production was still below 1.8 million barrels per day, the level it has agreed with OPEC last year.
The US added 10 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 12, taking the number to 752, energy servicing firm Baker Hughes said on Friday, marking the biggest increase since June 2017.
As well, hedge funds and money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures positions, which would profit from higher prices, to a new record, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday.
In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Wednesday and Thursday to further weigh what the impact of recent storm activity was on supply and demand.
The reports come out one day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday.
Oil traders will also focus on monthly reports from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties and the International Energy Agency to assess global oil supply and demand levels.
The data will give traders a better picture of whether a global rebalancing is taking place in the oil market.
Last week, oil prices settled higher for the fifth session in a row on Friday, holding near their strongest levels since late 2014 amid ongoing optimism that OPEC-led output cuts would continue to drain the market of excess supplies.
Oil prices have added around 13% since early December, benefiting from production cut efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia. The producers agreed in December to extend current oil output cuts until the end of 2018.
The deal to cut oil output by 1.8 million bpd was adopted last winter by OPEC, Russia and nine other global producers. The agreement was due to end in March 2018, having already been extended once.
However, analysts and traders have warned that the recent rally could encourage U.S. shale oil producers to ramp up production as they look to take advantage of higher prices.