Oil higher

Reuters

Tokyo

Oil prices held near multi-week highs on Wednesday after OPEC signalled optimism over its deal with other producers to curb output to clear a glut that has weighed on markets since 2014. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate April crude contract , the new front-month future, was up 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $54.49 a barrel at 0552 GMT.

Brent crude was up 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $56.89, having touched its highest since Feb. 2 at $57.31 in the previous session.

"We are nearing the top of the trading range for West Texas and Brent and so the next couple of sessions will be crucial from a technical point of view, at least in determining which way we break," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.

"The DoE data tomorrow will be where we get our next impetus," he said, referring to the U.S. Department of Energy´s official weekly numbers on crude and petroleum product stockpiles.