Crude futures were stable during mid-morning trade in Asia Monday as investors awaited clearer direction amid conflicting signals in the market on supply. At 10:45 am Singapore time (0245 GMT), December ICE Brent crude futures were stable from Friday's settle at $77.62/b, while the NYMEX December light sweet crude contract edged 7 cents/b (0.1%) higher to $67.62/b. Supply uncertainty surrounding OPEC production was keeping prices rangebound for the moment, analysts said Monday. "On one hand, Saudi Arabia had pledged to pump more crude oil to stabilize prices. On the other hand, unconfirmed market news suggests that Saudi Arabia may also be planning to reinforce the production curbs at the next OPEC meeting," UOB analysts said in a client note Monday. Saudi Arabia last week pledged to increase output to 11 million b/d, flipping expectations that the implementation of US sanctions on Iran next month would sharply tighten global oil supply. Comments from OPEC stoked some bearish sentiment this week after the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee said last Thursday that it was studying the outlook into 2019 to "prevent the re-emergence of a market imbalance". "A combination of falling equity markets and easing supply concerns saw investor sentiment turn decidedly bearish," ANZ Bank analysts said in a client note Monday.
Meanwhile, the US oil rig count was up by 2 at 875 in the week ended October 26, Baker Hughes data released Friday showed.
As of 0245 GMT. the US Dollar Index was up 0.07% at 96.245.
