International benchmark Brent crude traded at $53.76 per barrel at 06.02 GMT on Monday, while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) saw prices of $45.76 per barrel, marking slight increases for both prices since Friday's closing.
Brent closed on Friday at $52.20 per barrel while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate finished the day at $45.33 a barrel.
Brent crude started the week at $53.38 per barrel at 11.08 GMT on Friday, while WTI saw prices of $45.44 per barrel.
Algerian Minister of Energy Mustapha Guitouni said on Sunday that the outcome of the oil production cut agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its non OPEC partners would be reassessed by the end of the first quarter of 2019. He also said that they may decide on whether to extend the oil cut agreement after April.
The cartel and its allies, known as OPEC+, announced on Dec. 7 that they would curb their production by a total of 1.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) from their October 2018 levels starting on Jan. 1, 2019 for six months.
The oil rig count in the U.S. showed an increase last week, according to data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes on Friday.
The number of oil rigs in the country rose by two for the week ending Dec. 28, bringing the total count to 885 from 883 the week before, the data revealed.
Crude oil inventories in the U.S. declined slightly last week, while crude production increased to remain at a record high level, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Friday.
The EIA data showed Friday that crude oil production in the country rose by 99,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week to reach around 11.7 million bpd for the week ending Dec. 21. Crude oil production in the country has seen record high levels reaching 11.7 million bpd since the week ending Nov. 9.
This marked the 40th time that crude oil production increased in the country during the last 50 weeks.
However, following the oil rig count increase, crude oil prices showed little change in the global market on Friday.
Experts believe that market players are still concerned about the economic outlook amid the global trade wars, particularly between China and the U.S.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr