Oil prices traded higher on hopes that oil producers will cut their oil output. United Arabian Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei said on Thursday that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was ready to cooperate to lower oil production.

He noted that low oil prices will help to rebalance the oil market due oil output reductions.

Market participants are also awaiting the release of the number of active U.S. rigs later in the day. The oil driller Baker Hughes reported on last Friday that the number of active U.S. rigs declined by 31 rigs to 467 last week. It was the biggest drop since April 2015 and the lowest level since March 2010.

WTI crude oil for February delivery declined to $26.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for March fell to $30.23 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.