Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures rose on Monday, amid speculation that U.S. oil production has peaked and after China's central bank cut banks' reserve requirement ratios in a surprise decision over the weekend.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for June delivery tacked on 42 cents, or 0.74%, to trade at $57.75 a barrel during European morning hours.
Industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) said Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 26 last week to 734, the lowest since 2010. It was the 19th straight week of declines.
Market players have been paying close attention to the shrinking rig count in recent months for signs it will eventually reduce the glut of crude flowing into the market.
U.S. oil futures have been well-supported in recent sessions due to mounting expectations that U.S. shale oil production has peaked and may start falling in the coming months amid an ongoing collapse in rigs drilling for oil.
New York-traded oil prices increased $3.93, or 7.94%, last week, the fourth consecutive weekly gain.
Oil got a further boost after the People's Bank of China lowered the amount of deposits it requires banks to hold as reserves to 18.5% from 19.5% in an effort to spur economic activity.
The move came after official data last week showed that China’s economy grew 7.0% in the first quarter, the slowest pace of growth since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Data on industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment also fell short of forecasts, indicating that China needs to act to prevent a further slowdown in the economy.
China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for June delivery inched up 23 cents, or 0.37%, to trade at $63.69 a barrel. London-traded Brent futures jumped $4.37, or 7.63%, last week, the second straight weekly advance.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $5.94 a barrel, compared to $6.13 by close of trade on Friday.
Elsewhere, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% to trade at 97.74 early on Monday.
Concerns over the lack of an agreement on economic reforms for bailout funds between Greece and its creditors remained in focus, fuelling fears that the debt-strapped nation could be forced out of the euro zone.