SINGAPORE: Crude was higher in Asian trade Monday, clawing back some of the ground it lost in a sharp sell-off last week.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rose $1.47 to $98.65 a barrel in the afternoon.
Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained $1.73 to $110.86.
Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst from Purvin and Gertz international energy consultancy, said prices were "primarily reacting to the very sharp loss late last week, which was too much and too fast".
"We therefore see some buying (as traders) considering the pricing level to be an buying opportunity," he told AFP.
Positive employment data from the world's biggest oil consumer also provided a boost.
The US Labor Department's stronger-than-expected non-farm job creation data released last Friday hinted at a growing US economy, although the overall unemployment rate also rose to nine percent.
The data was welcomed by markets "so we have seen some recovery in oil prices, and the sharp drop (of) last week is likely to be temporary," Shum told AFP.
Meanwhile, Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed Saleh al-Sada told reporters on Sunday that an upcoming OPEC meeting could not be expected to make any major change, insisting that oil production and supplies were at healthy levels.
"We think the fundamentals are fine and we can't see shortage of supply. OPEC countries and non-OPEC countries are producing and supplying and satisfying the world demands," he said.
"Clearly the supply level and the stocks level is healthy, and we are after the stability of oil prices."
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