Baker Hughes on Friday said the U.S. rig count dropped by five in the last week of the year.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.62 a barrel at 3.44am GMT, 18c or 0.3% above their last settlement, and not far off the $62.21 May 2015 high reached last week.

The market has rallied in recent weeks as investors bet on an increasingly tighter market, aided by data showing declining US stockpiles and threats to supply from major producers such as Iran and Venezuela.

Many producers, still suffering from a 2014 price collapse, are enjoying the rally, although they are wary it will spur rival supply sources. US commercial crude inventories fell by 7.4 million barrels (MMBbl) in the week ended December 29, to 424.46 MMBbl, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

Colorado shooting: 5 deputies shot, 1 fatally, in Douglas County
According to the Denver Post, gunfire broke out as Sheriff's deputies responded to calls of a disturbance. So far there have been no reports as to their status, nor on any civilian casualties.

Traders and analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect government data due Wednesday to show crude stockpiles declined on average by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended January 5, which would mark the eighth consecutive week of inventory draws if estimates are accurate.

The growth of North American shale production, which caused an estimated 5 percent increase in USA crude output in 2017, has rocked the oil industry in the past few years, spurring OPEC and other traditional producers to cut output to trim global inventories. "We expect to see growth near 2 million barrels per day in 2018 and 1.3 million barrels per day in 2019".

However, Innes added that Middle East turmoil would remain a key focus for oil markets and had the potential to "send oil prices rocketing higher".

"Production cuts and demand are continuing to rebalance the market". The price of Brent has risen roughly almost 30% over the past year.

Nine killed in latest crackdown on Iran protests
Around 100 people were arrested overnight in the same region, state television reported. The towns are all in Iran's central Isfahan province, about 215 miles south of Tehran.

USA oil and gas production will continue to increase in 2019 as well, to the chagrin of OPEC and Russia-major exporters looking to curb production and reduce competition from American shippers.

US crude production was forecast to climb by 970,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2018 and rise another 580,000 bpd to 10.85 million bpd in 2019, the EIA said in a monthly report that provided the agency's first outlook for next year.

The rise in prices is expected to drive gains in USA production during 2018, offsetting curbs by others.

Futures advanced 0.5 percent on Monday, settling near $62 a barrel in NY.

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Creagh said regarding the confusion that coffee chains have created about coffee cups being eligible for recycling. Mary Creagh, chairwoman of the parliamentary group, said it was time for a "revolution" in recycling.