19.02.201802:40:00UTC+00Oil Prices Buoyed by Asian Markets’ Rally

Oil prices continued their upward trend to reach their highest level in almost two weeks on Monday, bolstered by a rally in Asian equity markets that joined a global recovery in stock markets and as geopolitical concerns over tensions in the Middle East escalate.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel could take aggressive actions against Iran itself and not just its allies in the Middle East, after border developments in Syria took Middle East foes one step closer to direct confrontation.

U.S. WTI traded up 73 cents higher or 1.2 cents at $62.41 per barrel, after hitting its highest level since Feb 7 earlier in the session.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for prices, traded up 52 cents or 0.8 percent at $65.36 after rallying more than 3 percent in the previous week.

Trading is anticipated to be slower than regular days due to the market holidays in the U.S. as well as Greater China.

In the fundamental front, the U.S. oil rig count, an indicator of future production, increased by 7 to 798, its highest since April 2015, according to a weekly report from Baker Hughes. This marks the first time since June that the oil rig count increased for four straight weeks and the number was significantly higher than the 597 rigs that were drilling actively for one a year ago as energy firms have bolstered spending since mid-216, when crude prices started to recover from a two-year downturn.

Increasing U.S. production is countered by efforts by OPEC and other producers including Russia to reduce production by 1.8 million bpd until the end of 2018.