Oil prices surge to two-week high

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters): Oil prices hit their highest level in nearly two weeks on Monday, lifted by a global equity market recovery and tensions in the Middle East, although concerns of rising US production tempered gains.

European shares rose for a fourth straight session, with global stocks set for a sixth session of gains.

Brent crude was up 37 cents at $65.21 a barrel at 1034 GMT, after rising to an 11-day high of $65.45 a barrel earlier in the session.

US West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up 54 cents at $62.22 a barrel, after earlier gaining as much as 1.4 per cent to its highest since February 7.

The US oil rig count, an indicator of future production, rose by seven to 798, its highest since April 2015, according to a weekly report from General Electric's Baker Hughes unit.

That marked the first time since June that drillers added rigs for four consecutive weeks, and the figure was well up on the 597 rigs that were active a year earlier as energy companies have boosted spending since mid-2016 when crude prices began recovering from a two-year crash.