NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices for Monday, the first full trading day in November, started on a high note, recovering slightly from last week's pitfalls.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil for December delivery moved back above the $80 per barrel mark to gain 36 cents to trade at $80.90 in early Monday trading.
Prices last week drifted lower after a report from Goldman Sachs found little optimism that WTI would hold above the $80 mark near term. All future contracts from WTI showed a price above the $80 mark in trading Monday, however.
Crude oil prices are in a bear market, shedding about 20 percent of their value since June. A report published Monday from IHS, released to UPI, found capital investments from some of the biggest oil companies in the world could witness steady declines if oil prices continue to fall.
"We were previously expecting a 2 percent decline in exploration and development spending in 2014, based on an IHS survey of 50 of the largest global upstream companies," energy researcher and author of the report Daniel Pratt said in a statement.
IHS found major energy companies were spending more as costs and profitability decline.
Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said when releasing third quarter results last week the decline in crude oil prices highlights the importance of efforts to "reduce costs and control investments to strengthen the resilience" of the company.
Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil prices, moved close to $86 per barrel, up more than 10 cents in early trading for the December contract. The December 2015 contract for Brent was $90.20 per barrel during Monday trading.
Pre-market data show modest gains in store for the start of the week on Wall Street.
