London — Oil edged up from multi-month lows on Thursday, but prices remained under pressure from a supply glut that has persisted despite Opec-led efforts to balance the market. Brent crude futures were up 60 cents at 45.42 a barrel at 2.07pm GMT, after falling as low as 44.53. They fell 2.6% in the previous session to 44.35, their lowest since November. US crude futures were up 40c at 42.93 a barrel, after also slipping. On Wednesday, they touched 42.05, their lowest intraday level since August 2016. "Prices were pushed a bit too low," Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist with ABN AMRO, said. "The people who believe in higher prices are stepping in." Since peaking in late February, crude has dropped around 20%, erasing gains at the end of the year in the wake of the initial Opec-led production cut. The Opec and other producers agreed to reduce output by 1.8-million barrels per day (bpd) from January for six months, and last month extended the deal for a further nine months. But ...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.