U.S. crude oil up over one pct on Saudi pledge to stabilise prices

SEOUL, Nov 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose more
than one percent in early Asian trading on Tuesday, after Saudi
Arabia pledged to work toward oil price stability.
U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1
increased 32 cents or 0.77 percent at $42.07 a barrel as of 0048
GMT after hitting $42.18 a barrel earlier in the session. It
finished down 15 cents at $41.75 on Monday.
Benchmark Brent futures for January contract LCOc1 settled
up 17 cents at $44.83 a barrel on the previous session.
"The focus is turning to the upcoming OPEC meeting and the
hope that some production cuts will be forthcoming. OPEC member
comments leading into the December 4 meeting are likely to
continue to drive sentiment," ANZ said in a note on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia led a shift by the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in November 2014 to defend
market share against competing supplies, rather than cut output
to prop up prices.
Saudi's cabinet said on Monday it was ready to cooperate
with OPEC and non-OPEC countries to achieve market stability,
days before OPEC meets to review its year-long policy of not
supporting prices.
The ANZ note added that the markets are also eyeing any
change in U.S. crude oil stocks with the market expecting a
small increase.
Regarding U.S. commercial crude oil stocks, a preliminary
Reuters survey with five analysts showed on Monday a crude stock
build of 1.1 million barrels on average in the week ended Nov.
20, or a rise for a ninth consecutive week. EIA/S
In other markets, Asian shares dragged their feet on Tuesday
after a healthcare mega-merger failed to impress investors while
the dollar held firm near an eight-month high as investors grew
more convinced of a U.S. rate hike next month. The euro fetched
$1.06365 EUR= , having fallen to a seven-month low of $1.0592
in U.S. trade on Monday. MKTS/GLOB