 "Oil. Photo: Reuters")
Oil prices inched higher on Monday, as investor optimism over the effectiveness of producer cuts encouraged record bets on a sustained rally, although growing US output and stubbornly high stockpiles kept price gains in check.
Top Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) exporter Saudi Arabia’s crude oil shipments fell in December to 8.014 million barrels per day (bpd) from 8.258 million bpd in November, official data showed on Monday.
Brent futures were up 37 cents at $56.18 a barrel at 1:05 p.m. EST (1805 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 29 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $53.69
