International Brent crude futures were up 35 cents or 0.8% at $42.29 a barrel.

US energy companies cut oil rigs for a third week in a row to the lowest level since November 2009, oil services company Baker Hughes said Friday, as energy companies keep slashing spending despite crude futures prices jumping roughly 50% since hitting a near 13-year low in February.

Drillers cut eight oil rigs in the week to 8 April, bringing the total rig count down to 354, Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report.

US prices had previously been supported by a drop in US crude stocks, albeit from all-time highs

Brent was lifted by production outages in the North Sea and West Africa, as well as by hopes that a meeting of exporters planned for 17 April would lead to an agreement to rein in ballooning overproduction that sees at least 1 million barrels per day pumped in excess of demand.

With both benchmarks back above $40 per barrel, analysts said that more investors could be attracted if prices now breached highs reached in March, when Brent rose above $42.50 and WTI rose to $41.90 per barrel.

"Crude oil prices are back to or near the March high and a significant resistance point. If oil prices can break above this level, investor sentiment towards commodities should receive a further boost," ANZ bank said on Monday.