Oil futures held steady on Monday as a rebound in Libyan oil production over the weekend weighed against upbeat economic data from Asia that pointed to strong energy demand from the region.

International benchmark Brent futures climbed 4 cents to $53.57 a barrel by 0952 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 8 cents higher at $50.68 a barrel.

Libya's Sharara oil field, the country's largest, resumed production on Sunday after a week-long disruption and state-owned NOC lifted force majeure on loadings of Sharara crude on Monday, sources told Reuters.

The field was producing around 80,000

barrels per day (bpd) on Sunday and about 220,000 bpd prior to the March Tl shutdown.

"The main development over the weekend is the restart of Sharara," managing director of PetroMatrix Olivier Jakob said.

Uncertainty about how Libyan output would fare in the months ahead added short-term volatility to oil prices, he said. ' (It) is a swing factor that can make it move both ways if one looks at the balances for the second half of the year. ” he added.

Adding to pressure on prices, energy services firm Baker Hughes said the US rig count rose by 10 to 662 last week, making the first quarter the strongest for rig additions since mid-2011 and raising prospects for more US shale oil.