LONDON: Oil prices rose on Monday from multi-week lows after Venezuela said OPEC and non-OPEC producers were close to a deal to stabilise the market and as clashes in Libya disrupted attempts to boost crude exports.
Brent crude futures were $46.15 per barrel at 1337 GMT, up 38 cents from their previous settlement but off an earlier peak of 46.62. US crude was up 47 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $43.50 a barrel.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said a deal could be announced this month to stabilise oil markets, which have come under pressure due to persistent oversupply.
"We think there is a great window of opportunity for a freeze here," Natixis analyst Deshpande Abhishek said. "It will not just help balance the markets, but it is also a win-win for OPEC and Russia, as Iran is unlikely to add extra production anyway for the next 6-12 months."
Crude exports from OPEC's third-biggest producer Iran jumped 15 percent in August from a month ago to more than 2 million barrels per day, according to a source with knowledge of its tanker loading schedule, closing in on shipment levels seen five years ago before Western sanctions.
Last week, Brent hit a two-week low and US crude fell to a five-week low on concerns about oversupply with more deliveries from Libya and Nigeria.
On Monday, ICE exchange data showed hedge funds and other large money managers have raised their weekly bets on rising crude oil prices, with net long positions in Brent stabilising around levels seen in mid-August when the market got the first indications of a possible OPEC output deal.
Prices were also supported by a weaker dollar and as the expected boost to Libyan exports was delayed. Clashes in Libya have halted the loading of the first oil cargo from the port of Ras Lanuf in close to two years and raised fears of a new conflict over Libya's oil resources.
However, concerns about rising supplies remain a bugbear. A preliminary Angolan November loading plan showed supplies were set to bounce back from a 10-year low. In the United States, drillers have added oil rigs for 11 out of the past 12 weeks.
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