Oil prices rose early on Friday, with Brent jumping back above $50 per barrel, as investors positioned themselves for more price increases this year in expectation of a tighter market, Reuters reported.
International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $50.04 per barrel at 0026 GMT, up 33 cents from their last settlement, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 28 cents at $48.61 a barrel, according to the report.
Traders said the higher prices were a result of a tightening physical market, in which large oversupply that led to the 2014-2016 price slump was now being brought back into balance, Reuters writes.
A further easing of monetary policy expected on the back of Asia`s slowing economies and because of Britain`s vote to leave the European Union was also seen as a reason for financial traders to put money into commodities, which saw one of the strongest quarterly performances in years in the second quarter of 2016, as noted in the report.
Prices were also supported by physical markets. Despite oil output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rising to a record 32.82 million barrels per day in June, OPEC expects demand for its supplies to be higher still, according to Reuters.
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