Crude prices held weaker in Asia on Monday as investors noted China PMI figures released at the weekend showed expansion and as details are awaited on an OPEC plan to curb crude output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in November fell 0.56% to $47.97 a barrel. Markets in China are shut for a week-long holiday. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for December delivery eased 0.50% to $49.94.
Last week, Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said late Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week rose by 7 to 425, marking the 13th increase in 14 weeks.
As well, oil futures finished higher for the third day in a row on Friday, as sentiment remained supported after OPEC members agreed on output cuts for the first time in eight years, despite some skepticism among analysts over the implementation of such an agreement.
For the week, London-traded Brent futures surged $4.30, or 8.56%, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries surprised the market by agreeing to a framework to cut production in talks held on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria.
The oil cartel reached an agreement to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, a reduction of 0.7%-to-2.2% from its current output of 33.2 million barrels.
However, the market remained skeptical of the deal, pondering how such a plan would be implemented. Some analysts cautioned that the agreement left out crucial details on how much each country will produce.
The 14-member oil group said it will finalize a plan to make those decisions at the official OPEC meeting in Vienna on November 30, when an invitation to join cuts could also be extended to non-OPEC countries such as Russia.
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