Brent crude, the global oil benchmark
traded up 75 cents at the $50.00 a barrel milestone
for the first time in two weeks by 1243 GMT, or 1.4
percent day on day. It rose 2.3 percent on Monday.
The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude,
was up 36 cents at $46.62 a barrel. The contract
gained 1.6 percent in the previous session.
"The market is possibly moving on speculation that
OPEC and non-OPEC countries will find an agreement
to cooperate," said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil
analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Russia's energy minister said Russia and Saudi
Arabia had discussed the oil market in a meeting
last week and would continue to consult each other.
This was in line with comments made by OPEC
Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri at a conference
in London that OPEC and non-OPEC members should work
together to reduce the global supply glut.
"There is one problem we are facing: the overhang,"
he said, adding there were already signs of higher
crude demand and of a drop in supply growth from
non-OPEC members.
The former head of U.S. shale producer EOG Resources
said at the same conference that U.S. oil production
growth would tail off this month and start to
decline early next year due to weak prices.
Iran's crude oil sales were on track to slip to the
lowest in seven months as its main Asian customers
were buying less than before.
The drop counters expectations that Iran's exports
would rise after Tehran and six world powers reached
a nuclear agreement on July 14, although sanctions
are unlikely to be officially relaxed until next
year.
Tensions also rose in the oil-rich Middle East after
a fighter jet of unknown nationality "interfered"
with Turkish military patrols on the Syrian border,
according to the Turkish military.
The announcement came after two incursions into
Turkish airspace by Russian jets over the weekend.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo;
Editing by David Evans and William Hardy)
