2019.12.0219:41:00UTC+00Crude Oil Prices Regain Ground After Last Friday's Sell-Off

Following the substantial decrease seen last Friday, the price of crude oil regained some ground during the trading day on Monday.

Crude oil for February delivery climbed $0.79 or 1.4 percent to $55.96 a barrel after plummeting $2.94 or 5.1 percent to $55.17 a barrel in the previous session.

The rebound by oil prices came amid reports Saudi Arabia wants OPEC to deepen oil production cuts in order to anchor oil prices before Saudi Aramco's initial public offering.

The deal reportedly to be discussed by OPEC and other oil producers at a meeting this week would add about 400,000 barrels per day to existing cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day.

Oil prices also benefited from upbeat Chinese manufacturing data, which helped alleviate concerns about the impact of the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute.

Survey data from IHS Markit showed Chinese manufacturing activity expanded at a moderate pace in November, with growth reaching its strongest level since December 2016.

The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose slightly to 51.8 from 51.7 in October, signaling an improvement for the fourth consecutive month.

However, buying interest was held in check by a separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a continued contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of November.

The ISM said its purchasing managers index edged down to 48.1 in November from 48.3 in October, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 49.2.