Oil Prices Surge on Venezuela Output Deal Hopes, Libya Concerns

Oil prices rose nearly 2% on Monday as Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said OPEC and non-OPEC producers were close to reaching an output stabilizing deal. The rise in oil prices is a reaction to Venezuelan comments about producers reaching a possible output agreement, according to Ric Spooner, CMC Markets' chief market analyst.

The Brent crude futures price increased by 82 cents, or 1.8%, to $46.59 per barrel at 0301 GMT (11:01 p.m. EDT). U.S. crude was up 88 cents, or about 2%, at $43.91 a barrel.

Clashes in Libya have halted the loading of the first oil cargo from the port of Ras Lanuf in close to two years, raising fears of a new conflict over Libya's oil resources. Brent and WTI prices had been dragged to multi-week lows on Friday amid worries returning supplies from Libya would add to the global supply glut.

Iran's crude exports jumped 15% in August to more than 2 million barrels per day, closing in on Tehran's pre-sanctions shipment levels of five years ago. In the United States, drillers have added oil rigs for 11 out of the past 12 weeks, bringing the total rig count up to 416.