Brent prevails above $62 at week beginning Feb. 4

By Gulsen Cagatay

ANKARA (AA) - International benchmark Brent crude traded at $62.90 per barrel at 06.39 GMT on Monday while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) saw prices of $55.09.

Crude oil prices were down at trading start on Friday as investors focused on talks between the U.S. and China in the hope that the world's two biggest economies would resolve their trade differences.

Brent was trading at $60.94 per barrel at 0730 GMT with a 1.5 percent decline, after closing Thursday at $61.89 a barrel. WTI was at $53.81 a barrel, a 0.2 percent daily loss, after ending the previous session at $53.90 per barrel.

The number of oil rigs in the U.S. dropped to 847 in the week ending Feb. 1, down by 15 over the previous week, according to data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes on Friday.

Following the decrease in the oil rig count, crude oil prices showed gains in the global market on Friday, with international benchmark Brent crude closing at $62.98 per barrel while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate finished the day at $55.25 a barrel.

The U.S. crude oil production is expected to average 12.1 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2019 and 12.9 mbpd in 2020, according to the EIA's Short Term Energy Outlook report for January.