Oil prices climbed on Monday, adding to Friday's powerful rally, but gains were capped by an estimate of another strong weekly build in US crude stocks, traders said.
A US refinery strike, which theoretically meant higher crude supplies in the market, and disappointing US consumer spending and manufacturing data also pared Monday's early gains.
Benchmark Brent crude was up 70 cents at $53.69 a barrel by 11:30 am EST (1630 GMT), after swinging in a wide band of between $55.62 and $51.41.
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The spread between Brent and US crude widened to above $5 a barrel, its biggest since November.