Oil prices rebound, US crude back above $30

 Oil prices recovered Monday after sharp falls the previous session, with US crude back above $30 a barrel as traders mulled the impact of a potential output freeze by key producers.

At around 1315 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in March was up $1.07 at $30.71 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery advanced $1.33 to $34.34 a barrel compared with Friday's close.

After recent volatile trading, world oil prices are unlikely to rise significantly from current levels before 2017, and even then their recovery will be slow as massive oil stocks feed into the market, the IEA said Monday.

"We must say that today's oil market conditions do not suggest that prices can recover sharply in the immediate future - unless, of course, there is a major geopolitical event," the International Energy Agency said in its medium-term report, which looks five years ahead.

Crude spiked sharply last week after major exporters held talks on a potential agreement to tackle a global supply glut that has dragged prices to their lowest levels in nearly 13 years.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's top crude producers, have agreed to stick to current production if others followed suit.

But crude resumed its downtrend Friday as traders fretted the deal would not gain traction, with analysts cautioning that Iraq and Iran, which is ramping up output after sanctions were lifted, had shown little support.

EY energy market analyst Sanjeev Gupta on Monday predicted that oil prices would remain under pressure and said he sees "little evidence of any relief from the oversupply".