Futures were steady in New York after rising 3.8 percent in the previous three sessions. Global demand will climb this year by the most since 2015, the IEA said Wednesday. OPEC on Tuesday raised estimates for the amount of crude it will need to supply in 2018 on stronger consumption from Europe and China. U.S. oil output gained last week as operations returned after Hurricane Harvey. The IEA report “was taken as confirmation of the prevalent supply-tightening narrative, that that oil surplus is slowly disappearing,” said Norbert Ruecker, head of commodity research at Julius Baer Group Ltd. Still, crude is “trading at the upper end of a fundamentally justified price range” and the “upcoming seasonal demand soft patch is set to create near-term headwinds.” Click Read More below for more of the story.

Futures fell 0.3% in New York after climbing 2.5 percent in the previous two sessions. Drillers boosted the rig count by two to 751, a three-month high, according to Baker Hughes data on Friday. OPEC-led output curbs may end earlier than scheduled if the market re-balances by June, Kuwait’s then-oil minister said Sunday. Oil is heading for a second yearly gain as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia extend supply cuts through the end of 2018. The extension includes an agreement to review the cuts in June, raising questions of how OPEC will eventually phase out the reductions. Shale explorers have signaled they’re gearing up for a drilling surge next year as hedging rose for an eighth week to a record. Click Read More below for additional information.