Oil prices hit 3-month high amid Opec-led output cuts

Brent crude futures fell $2.66, or 4.1%, to settle at $62.40 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $2.84, or 4.8%, to settle at $56.25 a barrel, after touching their highest in more than five weeks on Monday.

SYDNEY: U.S. oil prices hit a three-month high on Tuesday, buoyed by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $55.95 per barrel at 0034 GMT, up 36 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last settlement. Earlier in the session, they marked their strongest since Nov. 20 at $56.33 a barrel.

Prices had risen 2.2 percent on Friday, the last trading session due to a U.S. public holiday on Monday.

International Brent crude oil futures had yet to trade. They closed Monday up 0.4 percent, after touching their highest since Nov. 20 at $66.83 a barrel.

"OPEC and other major producers have done their part to stabilise prices by limiting output," said Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst, OANDA.

"Disruptions in crude supply have also taken prices higher despite the United States ramping up production levels and softer global demand."

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in Dec fell to 7.690 million barrels per day (bpd) from 8.235 million bpd in Nov, official data showed on Monday.

U.S. energy companies last week increased the number of oil rigs looking for new supply by three to a total of 857, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a report on Friday. - Reuters