Investing.com - Oil prices pushed higher in North American trade on Monday, as hopes that major oil producers will work together to cap output continued to provide support.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for May delivery climbed 72 cents, or 2.03%, to trade at $36.16 a barrel by 14:35GMT, or 9:35AM ET.
London-traded Brent prices jumped to $37.00 on Friday, the most since January 5, after Venezuela Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said that four oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar, will meet in mid-March to discuss efforts to stabilize the market.
Top oil producers Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to freeze oil production at January levels earlier this month, provided other oil exporters joined in. But Iran stopped short of committing to the proposal, casting doubts over whether the freeze will happen.
Elsewhere, crude oil for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 55 cents, or 1.68%, to trade at $33.33 a barrel amid indications U.S. oil drillers are cutting back on production.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. decreased by 13 last week to 400, the tenth straight weekly decline.
A lower U.S. rig count is usually a bullish sign for oil as it signals potentially lower production in the future.
However, analysts warned that market conditions remained weak due to an ongoing glut. U.S. crude stockpiles increased by 3.5 million barrels last week to an all-time high of 507.6 million barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, underlining concerns over a domestic supply glut.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, rose by 333,000 barrels last week, raising fears that the nation's largest storage facility is nearing full capacity.
Oil futures are down nearly 70% since the summer of 2014. Global crude production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil and after a decision by OPEC last year not to cut production in order to defend market share.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the West Texas Intermediate crude contract stood at $2.83 a barrel, compared to a gap of $2.66 by close of trade on Friday.