Oil prices move up on hopes supply glut may ease

Oil prices moved higher on Monday on marketexpectations that a cut in crude output may be extended and a global oil supply glut may shrink.

In commodities trading, the June contract for West Texas Intermediate settled at $48.85 US a barrel, up $1.01 on the day.

A wide group of oil-producing countries around the worldhas already cut their production in hopes of supporting the price ofoil, and Russia and Saudi Arabia said they want to extend the cutsthrough the first three months of 2018.

The price of oil has swung sharply in recent years, from morethan $100 US a barrelthree years ago to less than $30 US last year, as concernswax and wane that supplies will overwhelm demand.

• West Texas oil boom threatens recovery in Canada's oil patch

Brent crude, theinternational standard, rose $1.23 to $52.16 US per barrel on Monday.

The rise in oil helped push stocks higher on North American equity markets.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose91.59 points to finish at15,629.47.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 20,981.94, up 85.33 points, while the broader S&P 500 rose 11.42 points to hit a new record high close of 2,402.32. The Nasdaqcomposite index also hit a record high close, gaining28.44 points to end at6,149.67.

In currency trading, the Canadian dollar was up by 0.39 of a cent at 73.31 cents US.