Oil prices rose around 1% on Friday to move further away from five-month lows hit earlier in the week, buoyed by a report that Washington could postpone trade tariffs on Mexico and signs OPEC and other producers may extend crude supply cuts.

Brent crude futures were up 50 cents, or 0.8%, at $62.17 a barrel by 00:41 GMT, having risen earlier to $62.41. They gained 1.7% on Thursday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 50 cents, or 1%, at $53.09 per barrel, after trading as high as $53.33. They finished the previous session 1.8% higher.

On Wednesday, Brent and WTI sank to their lowest levels since mid-January at $59.45 and $50.60 respectively, after U.S. crude production hit a new record-high and stockpiles climbed to their highest since July 2017.

By then, both contracts were in bear-market territory, having lost more than 20% from peaks reached in late April.

But on Thursday oil prices followed U.S. stocks higher after Bloomberg News reported the United States is considering a delay in the tariffs on Mexico as talks continue.

Source : Reuters