Oil futures came off their highs in volatile trade on Monday while weak Chinese trade data and concerns over rising supplies weighed.
A weaker dollar had further supported oil, but the greenback pared losses against a basket of currencies, CNBC reported.
Brent crude for December delivery up 41 cents at $47.83 a barrel, having earlier risen above $48. December US crude rose 8 cents to $44.37 a barrel after falling nearly five percent last week.
Global oil demand growth is set to reach a five-year high in 2015 at 1.8 million barrels per day, but is expected to slow down in 2016, the International Energy Agency said last month.
OPEC will meet on December 4 to discuss the organization's strategy after last year it opted to maintain its output steady in the face of lower prices and rising US shale production.
The halving of oil prices since June 2014 continued to exert pressure on oil producers that cut oil rigs for a tenth week in a row last week.
Hamza Khan, commodities analyst at ING Bank in the Netherlands, said any upside for oil is limited as oil producers around the world struggle to sell a surplus.
"It will be very difficult to see upside traction before the meeting, in case OPEC announces it will maintain production at current levels," he said. "Any movements without fundamental support will be limited, especially on the upside."
The dollar was little changed after earlier easing versus a basket of currencies. The dollar index hit a near seven-month high on Friday following strong jobs data that increased the likelihood of a rate increase by the Federal Reserve.
China's trade surplus rose to a record of $61.64 billion in October, disappointing analyst expectations by a wide margin, driving up concerns over growth in the world's top energy consumer as the country's sector service also slowed.
"The market continues to look fragile and prone to lower numbers," brokerage PVM said in a report.
