London — Oil prices steadied just above seven-month lows on Tuesday after news of increases in supply, a trend which has undermined attempts by oil cartel Opec and other producers to support the market through reduced output. Benchmark Brent was up 15c at $47.06 by 8.20am GMT. On Monday, it fell 46c, or 1%, to settle at $46.91 a barrel. This was its lowest close since November 29, the day before Opec and other producers agreed to cut output by 1.8-million barrels per day (bpd) for six months from January. US crude oil was 15c higher at $44.35 a barrel. It fell 54c on Monday to $44.20, its lowest close since November 14. Both benchmarks are down by about 15% since late May, when Opec, Russia and other producers extended their limits on production until the end of March 2018. "Recent data points are not encouraging," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a research note. "Identifiable oil inventories — both crude and product in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEC...
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