Oil steadies

NEW York. — Oil steadied above $57 a barrel in New York as the threat of supply disruptions from the North Sea to OPEC member Nigeria and reduced US drilling all suggested the global surplus may continue to fade.

Futures added 0,5 percent in New York, matching Friday’s gain. US explorers trimmed the number of rigs by four to 747 last week, according to Baker Hughes data. A Nigerian oil union announced an indefinite strike while the country’s fellow OPEC members pressed on with efforts to clear a crude surplus. Ineos repeated that a crack in a North Sea pipeline will take two to four weeks to fix.

Oil is set for a second yearly gain as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies trim production to drain a global glut. While the group has extended cuts through the end of 2018, it faces a challenge from output in the US, which is forecast to surge next year to a record 10 million barrels a day.

“Investors remain bullish on oil as global growth looks strong, OPEC has extended cuts throughout 2018 and geopolitical risk has made its way back to the oil market,” said Jens Naervig Pedersen, an analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen.

WTI for January delivery, which expires Tuesday, rose 30 cents to $57,60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 1:28 pm in London. Total volume traded was about 30 percent below the 100day average. Bloomberg.