Oil up

Singapore

Oil prices recovered some ground on Tuesday, halting six consecutive sessions of slide, but markets remain under pressure as traders lose confidence that pledged output cuts by major producers will rein in oversupply in a world awash with fuel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures had added 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, by 0640 GMT, but remained below the $50 mark pierced late last week, at $49.37 a barrel. Brent crude rose 14 cents, or 0.27 percent, to $51.74 per barrel.

Traders said the gains were a counter-reaction to consecutive price drops in the previous six sessions.

Despite Tuesdays increases, market sentiment has turned bearish, with Brent down 10 percent since late 2016 despite efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017 in order to tighten the market.