Oil climbs above $ 49 as supply concerns resurface

Oil benchmarks on both sides of Atlantic extended the rebound and hovers near fresh seven-month highs as reports surrounding supply outages overshadow rising US crude reserves.

Oil sits at multi-month highs

Currently, both crude benchmarks climb higher, with Brent up +0.80% at $ 49.20 while WTI oil gains +0.80% to $ 49.16. Oil prices found fresh support from ongoing geo-political tensions in Nigeria and Libya, while crisis in Venezuela add to global supply disruptions.

As Reuters reports, militant activity in the oil-rich Niger Delta has taken out some 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil production from other companies in Nigeria, pushing oil output in Africa's largest-producing nation to more than 22-year lows. Libyan output has also been hit by internal conflict.

However, any recovery in oil remains short-lived as omnipresent oversupply concerns continue to remain on investors’ minds. Moving on, next in focus remains the weekly US rig count data. Oilfield services company Baker Hughes posted a fall of 10 rigs a week before.