Oil prices rose on Tuesday as supply cuts by producer club OPEC and Russia as well as declining U.S. rig counts bolstered sentiment.
Global benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.90 percent to $59.52 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 0.85 percent at $50.94 per barrel.
OPEC members, along with several non-OPEC countries like Russia, agreed in late 2018 to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day in order to stem a sinking market and support their own export-dependent economies.
In the United States, U.S. energy firms cut four oil rigs in the week to January 11, bringing the total count down to 873 from a peak of 888 in 2018.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei business daily reported today that Japan expects to restart oil imports from Iran, which were suspended due to U.S. sanctions, as early as this month.
After importing no Iranian oil for a fourth month in December, South Korea is likely to start buying Iranian crude this month or next.
U.K. bank HSBC cut its 2019 Brent price forecast by $16 to $64/bbl, reflecting stronger assumptions on U.S. oil supply strength and uncertainties over the pace of global oil demand growth.
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