Oil up

Singapore

Oil prices on Wednesday extended gains from the previous session, lifted by supply disruptions in Libya and expectations that an OPEC-led output reduction will be extended into the second half of the year.

Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, rose 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $51.62 per barrel by 0653 GMT.

In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were
up 34 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $48.71 a barrel. The gains added to a rise of more than 1 percent for both crude benchmarks the previous day.

Oil production from the western Libyan fields of Sharara and Wafa has been blocked by armed protesters, reducing output by 252,000 barrels per day (bpd), a source at the National Oil Corporation (NOC) told Reuters late on Tuesday.