WTI Nears $52, Brent Crude Falls and Finishes Over $57 a Barrel on Monday

Crude oil settled with a mixed finish on Monday as the WTI increased slightly and the Brent crude finished lower, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

December West Texas Intermediate crude rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $51.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

December Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 38 cents, or 0.7%, to end trading at $57.37 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, after flipping between small gains and losses.

Meanwhile, OPEC said that in September, its members achieved 120% compliance with the current crude oil production curb agreement.

The oil producer cartel also said Saturday that “all options are left” for rebalancing the market. That comment is seen as reinforcing the view that the output pact will be extended when OPEC meets in November.

“Fundamentals continue to favor the bulls right now, as the relentless rise in U.S. production has finally stalled as OPEC optimism has risen, and demand outlooks have improved,” wrote Tom Essaye, editor of The Sevens Report, on Monday.

Rising domestic oil production has been keeping a lid on oil prices, and analysts at Commerzbank said Monday, “we can expect a considerable increase in drilling activity in the coming months.”

“In this case U.S. oil production, could already reach a record level of over 10 million barrels per day in the first half of 2018,” said analysts, in a note. “We believe that the prices of both oil types, and especially of Brent, are overheated and expect them to correct in the short term.”

In other news, November natural gas tacked on 7.6 cents, or 2.6%, to settle at $2.991 per million British thermal units back on the New York Mercantile Exchange.