REUTERS
Oil prices jumped on Friday after comments by the energy minister of OPEC-member United Arab Emirates sparked hopes of a coordinated production cut, Reuters reported.
However, analysts said such a move remained unlikely and that oversupply would persist, according to the report.
International benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 gained as much as 6% against its previous settlement and was still up around $1, or 3.6% at 0753 GMT at $31.15 per barrel.
Friday's jump in Brent came after the United Arab Emirates energy minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was willing to talk with other exporters about cutting output, according to Reuters.
OPEC members were ready to cooperate with other producers on a cut, the minister said, although he added that cheap oil was already forcing some output reductions which would help rebalance the market itself.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1 also gained as much as 6% and were still up about a dollar at $27.20 per barrel at 0753 GMT after hitting lows not seen since 2003 in the previous session, according to the report.
Despite higher Brent and WTI, analysts said they saw little chance of OPEC and non-OPEC producers agreeing on a common policy, and that low prices as a result of oversupply would likely persist.