Oil prices rise for second day amid hopes for output cut by US producers

Oil prices climbed for a second day on Wednesday, lifted by hopes that US producers will cut output, but gains were limited compared with Monday’s crash after Saudi Arabia and Russia triggered a price war.

Brent crude futures rose $1.44, or 3.9%, to $38.66 a barrel by 0226 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.12, or 3.3%, to $35.48 a barrel, following a jump of over 8% the previous day.

“Expectations that U.S. shale oil producers will need to trim output helped improve the market sentiment,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

Occidental Petroleum on Tuesday joined a growing list of hard-pressed North American oil producers slashing spending and drilling after crude prices slumped to their lowest levels in more than three years.