Oil prices steady near year-and-a-half lows ahead of New Year | Reuters

Oil prices steady near year-and-a-half lows ahead of New Year | Reuters:

Oil prices steadied on Friday after a week of volatile trading ahead of the New Year holiday, supported by a rise in U.S. equity markets but pressured by worries about a global glut of crude.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 6 cents to $52.22 a barrel by 1:12 p.m. EST (1812 GMT), off the session high of $53.80 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 83 cents to $45.44 a barrel, after reaching $46.22 a barrel.