Excess supply should limit the rise in oil prices.

Reuters - A global oversupply of oil is expected to limit price increases for the commodity this year, despite a series of unplanned production disruptions and a decrease in unconventional ("shale") production in the United States, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday.

Wildfires in Canada, political unrest in Venezuela, and supply disruptions in Nigeria and Libya have been diverting production by about 4 million barrels per day.

This eased concerns about oversupply somewhat and helped push oil prices to around $50 a barrel for the first time in seven months.

But analysts don't expect prices to rise much higher than that level next year.

In the latest monthly Reuters poll, the 33 analysts surveyed predicted an average Brent crude price of $43,60 per barrel in 2016, up $1,30 from a forecast of $42,30 the previous month.

The survey marked a third consecutive monthly increase in forecasts for Brent crude prices, which have averaged around $39 so far this year.

Brent crude futures are expected to average $56,40 a barrel in 2017 and rise to $64,30 in 2018, the research showed.

"Production disruptions are a key factor supporting prices for now. We don't think prices will go much further than this," said commodities analyst Thomas Pugh of Capital Economics.

Analysts polled by Reuters predicted US oil would cost $42 a barrel in 2016, up $1,50 from last month's survey estimate. US crude futures have averaged around $38 a barrel so far this year.

Analysts unanimously agreed that no major decisions are expected at this week's meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

However, some have expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding Saudi Arabia's strategy in its disputes with Iran over market share and following the appointment of the new Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih.

(By Apeksha Nair)