London — Oil prices rose on Monday as talk of further supply cuts by major Opec exporters outweighed the prospect of higher US production as a drilling boom spreads across North America. Brent crude was up 40c at $49.50 a barrel by 9.30am GMT. US light crude was 30c higher at $46.52. Both futures contracts have dropped by more than 10% in the past month despite moves by Opec and other exporters including Russia to restrict supply to try to drain a global glut. Opec efforts are being undermined by a surge in drilling in the US that is spurring a boom in shale oil production that may fill many of the gaps left by Opec. Oil investors are wary, brokers say. "The market is in a very dangerous condition," said Robin Bieber, technical chart analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. "The trend is still down, but just correcting."
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