Oil up on positive demand sentiment

NEW YORK, June 2 (UPI) -- Expectations of growth in global oil demand helped crude oil prices recover from Monday's slump, with the U.S. benchmark again moving above $60 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, gained 1.1 percent from the previous close to fetch $60.69 per barrel in early Tuesday trading. WTI is up 2.5 percent from early May as the U.S. market faces a slowdown in the U.S. shale sector and lackluster growth in the domestic economy.

Brent, the global benchmark, gained a fraction of a percent early Tuesday to move just above $65 per barrel.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said from Vienna, where ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries gather later this week, that global demand was expected to pick up during the second half of 2015.

"Demand in the second half of the year will be better than now," he said.

In its April monthly market report, OPEC, led tacitly by Saudi Arabia, said about 60 percent of the demand growth is expected to come from Asian economies like China. Naimi at the time said "[we are ready] to supply China with any additional quantities [of oil] it needs."

OPEC in November kept its production levels stable despite the dramatic drop in crude oil prices during the latter half of 2014. Most analysts expect OPEC members to toe the line after meeting to discuss market dynamics later this week.

International negotiators, meanwhile, are looking to a June 30 deadline to reach a nuclear agreement with OPEC-member Iran. Iran said it expects more of its oil to hit the market if sanctions are eased as a result of those negotiations.