Oil markets on Tuesday were torn between production cuts by major exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia and reports that supplies from other regions including North America, Iraq, and Iran could offset any restraint aimed at curbing a global glut.

Prices for Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $54.99 per barrel at 0136 GMT, up 5 cents from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $52.04 per barrel, up 8 cents.

That came after prices fell around 4 % the previous session on the back of concerns that rising output in Iraq and Iran and increased drilling in North America were undermining efforts led by Saudi Arabia to curb a global fuel supply glut that has weighed on markets for over two years.

Iraq, the second biggest producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has given full supply allocations of Basra crude to three refiners in Asia and Europe for February, several sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.