Mubasher: Oil traded higher on Tuesday as supply worries mounted due to the unrest in crude exporters Iraq and Ecuador, while demand concerns were muted as markets awaited progress on the US-China trade, according to Reuters.

By 8:55 am GMT, US Nymex crude futures rose by 0.42% to $52.92 per barrel (pb), while global benchmark Brent futures climbed by 0.58% to $58.69 pb.

Protests in Iraq and Ecuador threatened to curb production from the two member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The death toll in Iraq, OPEC’s second biggest oil producer, climbed after one week of unrest.

Ecuador’s energy minister said that protests against austerity measures could slash the Latin American nation’s oil output by 59,450 barrels per day (bpd).

On a side note, Ecuador announced last week that it will leave the producer club as from 1 January next year.

In the US, crude stockpiles are expected to have grown for the fourth week, while inventories of refined products could have fallen, as per shown by a preliminary Reuters poll.

Still on the supply side, Russia pledged that it could raise output quickly by a range from 300,000 to 500,000 bpd or 0.3% to 0.5% of global output, if Saudi Arabia’s output issues lasted longer than expected.

Moreover, worries over demand were put on hold as investors were cautious ahead of US-China talks which will be held in Washington on Thursday, even if the odds that negotiations could result in comprehensive pact to resolve a trade conflict between the world’s biggest economies, are weak.