Brent crude oil’s about show its biggest monthly gain since 2009
Oil futures could be about to show their biggest monthly gain in almost six years, after April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures Exchange rose $1.28, or 2.1 per cent, to $61.33 a barrel. That means it's risen 15 per cent in February, its highest monthly rise since May 2009.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude touched $61.75 up nearly three per cent on yesterday's close of $60.5.
The black stuff has rallied more than 10 per cent in February and is expected to make its largest monthly gains in almost six years after hitting a six-year low of $45.19 in mid-January.
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes expected to show a fall in the number of rigs in operation in the US, and which has already fallen 35 per cent since October last year.
US rig output is currently running at 9.3m barrels a day, a multi-year high that has not put an end to worries of an oil glut despite the drop in rig numbers suggesting supplies may dwindle.