Oil edged up above $34 a barrel on Friday, a gain of some 25% from the 12-year lows seen earlier in January, on hopes that a deal between major exporters to cut production could help reduce one of the worst oil gluts in history.
Brent was up 40 cents to $34.29 a barrel on Friday, after gaining 79 cents, or 2.4%, on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Brent futures have jumped by around a quarter since hitting an intra-day low of $27.10 a barrel on Jan. 20. It hit a high on Thursday of $35.84. US crude was up 43 cents to $33.65 a barrel, having settled up 92 cents, or 2.9%, at $33.22 on Thursday.
Non-OPEC Russia said this week it could cooperate with OPEC on production curbs, something it had been refusing to do for 15 years since the ill-fated agreement with OPEC in 2001.
