Investing.com -- Crude oil futures soared on Monday, as the euro continued its steady rally against the dollar upon expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at some point this year.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for May delivery rose 0.82 or 1.72% to $47.37 a barrel. Last Friday, futures for April delivery surged roughly 5% as speculative oil traders used the weakening dollar to hedge their positions in crude.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for May delivery also increased 1.08% or 0.59 to $55.92. The spread between the international and U.S. benchmarks for crude stood at $8.55, far below levels from last week. It continues to tighten, as EUR/USD moved slightly higher on Monday to 1.0948 -- its highest level since March 4.
Crude future prices spiked on the first day of trading this week despite comments by Saudi Arabia's oil minister on global supply levels one day earlier. Speaking at a conference in Riyadh, Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi denied that there was a "conspiracy theory" behind Opec's decision in November to keep oil output unchanged.
"There is no conspiracy and we tried to correct all the things that have been said, but nobody listens," he said. "We are not against anybody, we are with whoever wants to maintain market stability and the balance between supply and demand with regards to the price the market decides it."
Elsewhere, Schlumberger Ltd. CEO Paal Kibsgaard said on Monday that he expects oil production in North America to continue to grow for the remainder of the year, before falling in 2016. In spite of steady reductions in rig counts, oil is being pumped in the United States at its fastest rate in more than 30 years. In turn, the rapid increase in U.S. shale production has allowed oil providers to cut spending on oil exploration internationally, he added.
Speaking at the Scotia Howard Weil Energy conference in New Orleans, Kibsgaard indicated that the spending cuts could restrain escalating production levels, spurring price increases in oil during the second half of the year.
Schlumberger Ltd., the world's top oilfield services provider, employs approximately 120,000 people and has main offices in Houston, Paris and London.
Crude oil prices have declined nearly 50% since last July and are down from roughly $75 a barrel since Opec decided to keep supply levels constant in late-November.