Futures in New York are up 3.7 percent this month, even after a 1 percent drop on Monday, following data that showed an increase in U.S. drilling activity. A potential withdrawal in May by U.S. President Donald Trump from a 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran would reimpose sanctions on the Middle Eastern producer and curb its exports. Meanwhile, OPEC is trimming output even after concluding it has cleared 97 percent of the surplus that has weighed on prices. “Obviously the rig count that came on Friday was quite bearish,” says Torbjorn Kjus, chief oil analyst at DNB Bank ASA. “There’s a lot of profit in the books here for the non-commercials. You shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a $5 flush out and some profit taking.” In the U.S., working oil rigs rose by five last week to 825, the highest level since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. Click Read More below for additional information.

“The U.S. oil rig count, a key indicator for trader sentiment, exhibited a rather large weekly decline,” said analysts at consultants JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna. “At least in the short term, this dynamic should help protect the downside to crude prices. The more pressing question may be how much higher prices can climb before the gravitational forces of global supply and demand can start to form an upper limit.” West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose as much as 44 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $50.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded for $49.91 at 10:43 a.m. London time. On Sept. 14, it reached $50.50, the highest since May 25. Total volume traded was about 26 percent below the 100-day average. Click Read More below for additional detail.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $2.204; Month Ago: $2.174; Year Ago: $2.568. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $2.418; Month Ago: $2.426; Year Ago: $2.925.