Oil prices rebound from heavy falls

London - Crude oil prices rebounded on Monday following last week's heavy falls which sent Brent tumbling to two-year lows against a backdrop of weak demand growth.

Approaching midday in London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November stood at $92.92 a barrel, up 61 cents from Friday's close.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November won back 46c to $90.20 a barrel.

Last week, Brent struck $91.48 a barrel, or lowest level since June 2012. WTI had fallen to $88.18 a barrel, a level last recorded in April 2013.

Despite Monday's pull-back, "oil prices are likely to keep falling for the rest of the year as global supply is outstripping demand", said Tony Nunan, oil market analyst at Mitsubishi.

"Supply of US shale gas alone can cover global demand this year, and unless Opec countries reduce their production, or unless a fresh geopolitical concern occurs, the best estimate now is a bearish market," he added.

While output surged in the United States owing to oil extracted from shale rock, exports are on the rise in Russia, Libya and Kurdistan. Also, Saudi Arabia cut prices for the fourth straight month last week to defend its market share, suggesting it is unlikely to cut production any time soon.

Both Brent and New York contracts have shed about 15% in the past three months.

Also depressing prices is the stronger dollar, which surged on Friday after the Labour Department said the US economy created 248 000 jobs in September and the jobless rate dipped to a six-year low of 5.9%.

A stronger US unit makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies, denting demand.