Oil prices climbed into positive territory this evening, tracking gains on Wall Street as OPEC member Iran said the cartel may need to restrict supplies further to cut global stockpiles.
US crude rose 36 cents to $46.24 a barrel, rebounding from a near-five-week low of $43.83 hit earlier in the day. London Brent crude rose 43 cents to $50.29.
Oil prices have been tracking moves in equities closely in recent months as traders look for signs of a recovery from the economic slowdown that has hit global demand for oil for the first time in a quarter century.
Iran's OPEC governor said the producer group may decide to further cut its oil output in May if the market continued to remain oversupplied, and expressed concern that consumer countries are stockpiling oil due to lower prices.
'OPEC may decide to further cut its output in its next meeting if the market remains oversupplied,' Mohammad Ali Khatibi told reporters.
US crude oil stockpiles are running at their highest in nearly 19 years. The US government's Energy Information Administration will release its latest figures on Wednesday.
