13.02.201803:32:00UTC+00Oil Prices Lifted by Rebound in Global Stock Markets

Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, buoyed by a jump in global stock markets that came after sharp declines in the previous week.

U.S. WTI crude futures stood at $59.44 per barrel. The contract is up 0.25 percent, or 15 cents from their last close. Brent crude futures traded at $62.78 per barrel, up 19 cents or 0.3 percent from the prior settlement.

Last week, stock markets recorded some of the steepest declines on record,affecting confidence across markets. With markets seemingly entering a period of respite, oil traders said attention was slowly returning to inventory levels to measure crude supply levels.

The American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release crude inventory estimate figures on Tuesday, while government agency U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its fuel storage and crude production data on Wednesday.

With regards to demand, OPEC said on Monday that it anticipated world oil demand to rise by 1.59 million bpd this year, marking a rise of 60, 000 bpd from its prior estimate, hitting 98.6 million bpd.

The increasing consumption is being matched by higher output from producers outside OPEC, according to the cartel. OPEC said the U.S. and other producers would bolster supply by 1.4 million bpd this year, 250, 000 bpd higher from last month and the third consecutive increase from 870, 000 bpd in November.

OPEC said that due to the non-OPEC production increase, oil markets would only return to a rebalanced supply and demand towards the end of 2018.