Oil prices extended gains on Monday that have lifted crude benchmarks by more than a third from this year’s lows, as tightening supply and an improving global outlook strengthened the sentiment for a market recovery. Front-month Brent LCOc1 crude futures were trading at $39.37 a barrel at 0945 GMT, up 65 cents from their last settlement. In January, prices fell to levels not seen since 2003. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fetched $36.57 a barrel, up 65 cents from the last close and 40 percent above February lows. The May WTI contract settled on Friday at $35.92 a barrel, up 3.91 percent. While data showed late last week that U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for an 11th week in a […]