Iran's crude oil exports in December are set to fall 8 percent from November to a five-month low, a source with knowledge of its preliminary tanker schedule said, as lower shipments to China and others in Asia offset bumper exports to Europe.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 4.27% to $56.67 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 4.80% at $53.95 a barrel.

The first global crude supply pact in 15 years has underlined the growing energy alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia, as the depth of the two-year oil slump forces co-operation between once unlikely partners.

Brent crude for February delivery LCOc1 was up 12 cents at $54.01 a barrel by 0752 GMT, after rising 1.7 percent on Thursday. The contract hit its highest since July 2015 at $55.33 on Monday. U.S. crude for January delivery CLc1 was up 32 cents at $51.16 a barrel. Both contracts have lost nearly 1 percent so far this week.

OPEC crude oil production for November rose for the sixth straight month, to a record 33.86 million b/d.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has said that total oil exports for November have reached a record high of 4.051 million bpd.

North Sea Brent crude was up 25 cents at $53.25 a barrel by 0940 GMT. U.S. light crude was up 20 cents at $49.97 a barrel.

Indian state-run oil refiners have called for Nigeria to increase its total term contract volumes next year by more than 20% as demand from the South Asian country climbs, an official from Nigeria's state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said.

North Sea Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 10 cents a barrel at $54.03 by 0950 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 15 cents at $51.08 a barrel.

EIA forecasts Brent crude oil prices to average $43 per barrel (b) in 2016 and $52/b in 2017. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average about $1/b less than Brent prices in 2017. The values of futures and options contracts indicate significant uncertainty in the price outlook.

The balance between demand and supply in the oil market will shift earlier than previously expected due to OPEC's output cuts, with prices heading towards $60 a barrel next year, Statoil's chief executive said on Tuesday. Brent crude futures LCOc1 hit $55 a barrel on Monday, the highest level since July 2015, after OPEC agreed on Dec. 1 to curb production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January.

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at $54.83 per barrel at 1127 GMT, down 11 cents from Monday's close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $51.50 a barrel, down 29 cents.

Russia has also benefited this year from oil's price stabilization and a recent deal between major crude producers to curb output has raised expectations of higher prices next year. The central bank has a medium-term oil price forecast of $40 a barrel.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1, the global benchmark used to trade oil, soared to its highest since July 6, 2015 to $55.20 a barrel. It last traded at $55.08 a barrel, up 62 cents, or 1.1 percent, at 0946 GMT. WTI crude oil CLc1 traded up 54 cents, or 1 percent, at $52.22 a barrel.

Front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 45 cents, or 0.8 percent by 0951 GMT (4:51 a.m. ET) from their last settlement at $53.49 per barrel. The contract was up more than 13 percent this week, its biggest gain since March 2009. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1 were at $50.68, down 38 cents.