Oil prices edged up on Monday, after a 2 percent slide on Friday, on expectations that Saudi Arabia would continue to restrain its output in order to support prices, and as the amount of rigs drilling for new oil in the United States dipped. Oil ports, producers and refiners in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, which shut facilities ahead of Hurricane Nate, were planning to reopen on Monday as the storm moved inland, away from most energy infrastructure on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) front-month crude futures were trading at $49.48 per barrel at 0436 GMT, up 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were up 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $55.78 a barrel.

Oil tumbled by around 2 percent on Friday, with WTI dipping back below $50 per barrel, as concerns of overproduction re-surfaced. But analysts said on Monday that a Saudi Arabian commitment to support the market by restraining output would prevent crude from falling further.

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