Investing.com - Crude prices inched higher in Asia on Monday ahead of China manufacturing and services PMI figures seen as reliable indicators of near-term demand prospects.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude September contract rose 0.48% to $49.95 a barrel, while on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery was last quoted at $52.22 a barrel.
Ahead the CFLP manufacturing PMI is expected to show a level of 51.6, a dip from 51.7 in June with a reading of 54.9 for the services PMI in the earlier month. The private Caixin manufacturing reading is due on Tuesday with a reading of 50.4 seen. Any level above 50 denotes expansion.
Earlier, Japan reports industrial production data with June expected to show a provisional 1.7% gain.
Last week, Oil prices settled higher for the fifth session in a row on Friday to log its biggest weekly gain this year as investors cheered signs that rising demand will offset excess supplies in the second half of the year.
Fresh pledges from Saudi Arabia and Nigeria to respectively pull back on exports and output boosted sentiment.
Data showing a fourth consecutive week of declines in U.S. crude inventories and signs of a possible slowdown in U.S. shale production further added to optimism that the oil market was beginning to rebalance.
Weekly figures from energy services company Baker Hughes showed that the number of active rigs drilling for oil edged higher by two to 766 last week, suggesting early signs of moderating domestic production growth.
In May, OPEC and some non-OPEC producers extended an agreement to slash 1.8 million barrels per day in supply until March 2018. So far, the agreement has had little impact on global inventory levels due to rising supply from producers not participating in the accord, such as Libya and Nigeria, as well as a relentless increase in U.S. shale output.
U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Meanwhile, traders will also continue to pay close attention to comments from global oil producers for evidence that they are complying with their agreement to reduce output this year.