Oil price stays near two-month low in early Asian trade Monday

Ahead of the Christmas holiday on Friday, volume in the front-month U.S. crude contract was around 265,000 lots by midday, slightly less than the 294,000 lots on Tuesday, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. (Oil rig pumpjacks, also known as thirsty birds, extract crude from the Wilmington Field oil deposits area where Tidelands Oil Production Company operates near Long Beach, California - Reuters filepic)

TOKYO: Crude prices inched down on Monday in Asia, staying not far from two-month lows hit in the previous session, amid worries over a global oil glut.

A strong dollar and the fourth weekly rise in the U.S. oil rig count have helped relieve pressure on crude futures. [USD/] [RIG/U]

London Brent crude for September delivery was down 4 cents at $45.65 a barrel by 2243 GMT on Sunday, after settling down 51 cents on Friday. The benchmark contract on Friday hit $45.17, the lowest since May 11.

NYMEX crude for September delivery was down 5 cents at $44.14 a barrel, after closing down 56 cents on Friday.

Libya's hopes to boost crude exports have been dealt a blow after the head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) objected to a deal between the government and local guards to reopen key ports.

In a summer of discontent with high inventories and an unseasonably weak demand, some U.S. refiners have started blending winter-grade gasoline earlier than usual to sell later in the year, two trading sources told Reuters last week.

The world's biggest economies will work to support global growth and better share the benefits of trade, policymakers said on Sunday after a meeting dominated by the impact of Britain's exit from Europe and fears of rising protectionism.

Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions to a four-month = Reuters