Oil rises

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose on Tuesday, lifted by indications that supply is gradually tightening, especially in the United States.

Brent crude oil was up 40 cents at $52.06 a barrel by 0715 GMT. U.S. light crude was 35 cents higher at $47.72. "U.S. crude oil stocks have been falling consistently in recent weeks," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com.

"If the downtrend in oil inventories is maintained, then a bullish case can be made for oil, especially given the ongoing supply restrictions from OPEC and Russia," he added.

U.S. commercial crude inventories have fallen by almost 13 percent from their March peaks, to 466.5 million barrels.

U.S. crude production has broken through 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd), its highest since July 2015, but analysts say growth may slow as U.S. energy firms cut the number of rigs drilling for new oil.