SINGAPORE: Oil prices advanced further in Asia Monday as dealers cheered signs of a dip in North American crude production, while a robust US jobs report also provided support, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery rose 65 cents to $52.34 while Brent crude for March rose 35 cents to $58.15 in mid-morning trade.
Last week saw WTI surge 13.6 per cent and Brent add 9.4 per cent, their best weekly gains since February 2011.
Nicholas Teo, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, said the gains were “motivated by supply-side influences” in the United States.
A survey by US oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc released Friday showed the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States fell 83 to 1,140 in the week to February 6. The dip followed a cut of 94 rigs in the previous week.
Bloomberg News reported that the rig count was standing at its lowest level since December 2011.
