Oil prices remain steady on Tuesday despite looming concerns of oversupply and slowing demand for the commodity amid a weak world economy.
Brent crude prices remained unchanged at $48.61 a barrel, while the US light crude increased 20 cents at $46.09, Reuters reported.
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun told the news agency: "Short-covering has led to a little bit of a rally."
Official figures and Reuters data revealed that GDP growth in China slowed to 6.9% during the third quarter representing a decline on a 7% increase in the prior quarter.
Analysts said that around two million barrels per day (bpd) crude oil is produced by major Middle East oil exporters, which is more than the current demand.
Once the international sanctions are lifted Iran also plans to increase oil production after complying with the conditions of a nuclear deal.
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By GlobalDataAccording to a senior Iranian oil official, Tehran plans to boost crude production by 500,000bpd within a week of the lifting of sanctions and sell the oil to traditional Asia and European customers.
Investors are waiting for the oil inventory data to be released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) later on Tuesday, while the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to release oil inventory data on Wednesday.