Crude oil prices were up more than 1 percent to begin Wednesday with optimism from stock markets around the world and with the easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $60.87 per barrel at 0635 GMT, after it closed Tuesday at $60.20 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose to $52.24 a barrel at the same time, after ending the previous day at $51.65 per barrel. Both benchmarks revealed a 1.1 percent daily gain during this period.
The rise in oil prices came after Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared Monday a force majeur on its biggest oil field.
The company said the shutdown of the Sharara oil field would cause a production loss of 315,000 barrels per day (bpd), with an additional loss of 73,000 bpd at the El Feel oil field since it depends on Sharara for electricity supplies.
Increases in Asian and European stock markets led to optimism that global oil demand could finish the year strong, according to experts.
Nikkei 225 in Japan closed Wednesday with a 2.1 percent gain, while Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended the day with a 1.5 percent rise.
FTSE 100 in the U.K. was up 0.3 percent during trading hours at 0830 GMT. In France, CAC 40 showed gains of 0.5 percent, while DAX in Germany was up 0.4 percent at the same time.
Additional investor optimism arose with potential softening of trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday described the restarting of trade negotiations between the world's two biggest economies as 'productive.'
'Very productive conversations going on with China! Watch for some important announcements!' he wrote on social media.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He held a phone conversation early Tuesday to set a timetable for the next round of trade talks between their countries.
China and the U.S. agreed in early December during the G20 meeting in Argentina not to impose additional reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. The trade truce means delays in the U.S. application of increased tariff rates on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent, from 10 percent, which are due to start from Jan. 1.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr