Oil prices were higher in European trading on Tuesday, rising for the first time in seven sessions as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations after futures fell to the lowest level in four weeks amid signs of further gains in U.S. crude output.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude June contract rose 13 cents, or around 0.3%, to $49.36 a barrel by 4:45AM ET (08:45GMT).
The U.S. benchmark settled lower for the sixth session in a row on Monday after hitting its weakest level since March 29 at $49.03.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for June delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London tacked on 16 cents to $52.29 a barrel after sliding to $51.42 in the prior session, its deepest trough since March 29.
Investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (20:30GMT) later on Tuesday. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of 1.3 million barrels.
Crude has been under heavy selling pressure in recent days amid fears that an ongoing rebound in U.S. shale production could derail efforts by other major producers to rebalance global oil supply and demand.
U.S. drillers last week added rigs for the 14th week in a row, data from energy services company Baker Hughes showed on Friday, extending a 10-month drilling recovery. That brought the total count to 688, the most since September 2015.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump will sign several executive orders on energy and the environment this week, which would make it easier for the U.S. to develop energy on and offshore, a White House official said on Sunday.
The increase in U.S. output has overshadowed pledged output cuts by major producers. In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day between January and June, but so far the move has had little impact on inventory levels.
A final decision on whether or not to extend the deal beyond June will be taken by the oil cartel on May 25.
Russia said on Monday that its oil output could climb to the highest rate in 30 years if OPEC and non-OPEC producers do not extend a supply reduction deal beyond June 30.
Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for June inched down 0.2 cents, or about 0.2%, to $1.624 a gallon, while June heating oil added 0.2 cents to $1.550 a gallon.
Natural gas futures for June delivery was little changed at $3.159 per million British thermal units.
