Brent crude rises nearly 2% after Friday's plunge

Brent crude rose nearly two percent on Monday but remained below $60 a barrel after plunging nearly 8 percent on Friday, due to weak fundamentals and downturn in the wider financial markets.

International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading higher at  61 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $59.73 per barrel early Monday, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 51 cents, 1 percent, at $50.93 a barrel.

Crude prices dived eight percent on Friday, registering their biggest weekly losses in nearly three years, as rising US production increased fears of a supply glut.

The oil markets are also being affected by a strong US dollar vis-à-vis other currencies and the ongoing trade war between the world's two biggest economies - the US and China.