Despite Monday's Gains, Oil's Near-Term Upside Still Capped at $45-$55

The week kicked off with oil prices ending nearly 1 percent higher than Friday

The week kicked off with oil prices ending nearly 1 percent higher than Friday, but it wasn't enough to detract from the bearish sentiment affecting the market and a growing consensus that escaping a middling price range of $45-$55 will be near-impossible in the short term.

Brent crude settled up 31 cents at $48.32 per barrel on Monday, while West Texas Intermediate rose 41 cents to settle at $46.29; earlier in the day, both prices were down, extending Friday's drop, which analysts said was due to data showing a growth in U.S. oil rigs for a 10th week in 11 - the longest stretch of growth in five years.

Phil Davis, a trader at PSW Investments, echoed the sentiments of many of his colleagues when he remarked, "If we get to $47.50 on WTI, I'm shorting it as it seems to be a channel top; fundamentally, there's little support for crude despite its attempts to hold to a bottom channel of $45 on empty OPEC talk of production cuts."

Speaking with CNBC, Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst for Energy Aspects, dismissed outright any benefit coming from the September 26-28 freeze talks staged by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Algeria: "it doesn't change fundamentals, in fact it keeps the market well supplied," she said, referring to the fact that even if a freeze were agreed upon, key OPEC members are producing at record rates and millions of barrels per day higher than when the last freeze was proposed earlier in 2016.

Sen also noted, "We are drawing stocks, but a lot less than earlier expected."

The respected analyst concluded that for the time being at least, "The upside is extremely capped" at "between $45-$55."

Also using fundamentals to arrive at a much darker near-term outlook is Anthony Grisanti, founder and president of GRZ Energy; he told CNBC, "There is more oil being produced today around the world than last year at this time, and economies are doing pretty much the same; it's the perfect recipe" for oil to trade in the mid-$30s before the year is out.