Singapore: Oil prices rose to their highest levels in 2019 on Monday, lifted by OPEC-led supply cuts and by U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures hit $56 per barrel for the first time this year, before edging back to $55.89 per barrel by 0051 GMT. International Brent crude futures hit a 2019-high of $66.61 per barrel early on Monday before easing to $66.47 per barrel, still up 0.3 percent from their last close. Further pushing up crude prices have been U.S. sanctions against oil exporters and OPEC-members Iran and Venezuela. At least partly offsetting these supply falls has been a surge in U.S. crude oil production by more than 2 million bpd in 2018, to a record 11.9 million bpd.

Source: Mint February 18, 2019 03:11 UTC