Oil Steadied Below $45

US light crude for January delivery rose 11 cents to $44.64 a barrel after falling as low as $44.10 on Monday.

London Brent crude was untraded at the same time.

In an attempt to build a floor under prices, OPEC ministers, who meet on Wednesday in Algeria, are calling for the largest output cuts ever to combat shrinking demand and bulging inventories.

For many in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, up to two million barrels per day (bpd) must be removed to keep up with a slump in consumption that has knocked two-thirds off prices since a July record above $147.

That would come on top of a combined two million barrels daily that OPEC has already slashed at two previous meetings.

In another sign that Russia is willing to clinch a deal to protect prices, the world's top non-OPEC producer is sending its highest ranking delegation ever to the meeting - including heads of its five top oil companies.

Author: Ksenia Kochneva