WTI, Brent oil futures turn higher after bullish El-Badri comments

Investing.com - Crude oil futures erased losses to hit the highest levels of the session on Monday, as investors reacted to bullish comments made by OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in March tacked on 35 cents, or 0.78%, to trade at $45.95 a barrel during U.S. morning hours.

Nymex oil fell by as much as $1.23 to hit a session low of $44.36 earlier, a level not seen since March 2009.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for March delivery inched up 27 cents, or 0.55%, to trade at $49.06 a barrel. Earlier in the day, Brent touched a low of $47.59, down $1.20.

Oil prices erased losses after El-Badri said he is open to meeting with non-OPEC producers to balance the market.

El-Badri added that oil prices could reach $200 per barrel if there is a lack of investment following the recent price rout.

Oil prices have fallen nearly 60% since June as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output, while the U.S. pumped at the fastest pace in more than three decades, creating a glut in global supplies.

Futures fell sharply earlier in the day as traders were cautious after Greek anti-austerity party Syriza swept to victory in elections on Sunday, reviving concerns over the country's future in the euro zone.

Greek leftist party Syriza formed a coalition government with the right-wing Independent Greeks party on Monday. Syriza won 149 seats in Greece’s 300-seat parliament, while the Independent Greeks took 13 seats, giving them a comfortable governing majority.

While the two parties are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, they both reject austerity measures connected with Greece's international bailout.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion bailout and reverse many of the austerity measures imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, raising the possibility of a major conflict with euro zone partners.

The euro fell to an 11-year low of $1.1098 against the greenback before staging a rebound to $1.1266, as most market analysts expect Tsipras to eventually make compromises to appease international lenders and avoid the so-called "Grexit".

In addition, likely next Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has previously stated desire for Greece to remain in euro zone.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.17% to hit 95.16, after touching a more than 11-year high of 95.77 on Friday.