Oil prices continued to rebound on Monday, erasing part of the steep losses in December, as an OPEC-led output cut deal, going into effective this month, has begun to play its role.

OPEC and its oil-producing allies, including Russia, reached an agreement to slash oil production by a total of 1.2 million bpd on Dec. 7, in a bid to shore up falling prices due to fears of oversupply.

OPEC oil supply dropped by 460,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 32.68 million bpd last Month, according to a Reuters survey last week,

The first trading day of the week was also stimulated by declining U.S. crude inventories. Data showed that stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, a key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures, decreased by 565,000 barrels from Dec. 3 to Dec. 4, according to Genscape, a U.S. global commodity and energy markets intelligence firm.

The market has anticipated that talks between Chinese officials and the U.S. trade representatives that began on Monday would yield positive results, as smooth global trade would help encourage oil demand.

The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery increased 0.56 U.S. dollar to settle at 48.52 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery rose 0.27 dollar to close at 57.33 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.