LONDON - Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as a slump to near 11-year lows in the previous session whetted investors' buying appetite, but a lingering supply glut kept prices near troughs last seen during the financial crisis.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, had risen 75 cents to $38.67 a barrel by 1417 GMT, on track to break its seven-session losing streak. U.S. crude was up 60 cents at $36.91.
"It's technical buying. It's pretty obvious shorts started to take profit when Brent prices dropped down to the 2008 low," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London-based PVM Associates.
The dollar was also near a six-week low against a basket of currencies, encouraging the purchase of dollar-denominated oil contracts.
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In the United States, now the world's biggest oil producer, congressional leaders inched closer on Monday toward agreeing to repeal a 40-year old U.S. oil export ban.
If the United States started exporting large volumes of excess oil, it would alleviate pressure on its swelling storage tanks.
