Oil prices rose on Monday as US drilling stalled and as investors anticipated lower supply once new US sanctions against Iran's crude exports kick in from November, reports Reuters.
Benchmark Brent crude oil rose $1.09 a barrel, or 1.4 per cent, to a high of $77.92 and was trading at $77.85 by 0900 GMT. US light crude was 70 cents higher at $68.45.
"A higher oil price scenario is built on lower exports from Iran due to US sanctions, capped US shale output growth, instability in production in countries like Libya and Venezuela and no material negative impact from a US/China trade war on oil demand in the next 6-9 months," said Harry Tchilinguirian, oil strategist at French bank BNP Paribas.
"We see Brent trading above $80 under (that) scenario," he told Reuters Global Oil Forum.
US drillers cut two oil rigs last week, bringing the total count to 860, Baker Hughes said on Friday.
The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States has stalled since May, reflecting increases in well productivity but also bottlenecks and infrastructure constraints.