Crude oil prices ease on prospects of higher world supplies

Reuters  |  SINGAPORE 

By Naveen Thukral

Global Brent was down 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $76.45 a barrel by 0531 GMT, falling for a second session.

Intermediate (WTI) futures dipped 3 cents to $65.78 a barrel. Last week, the market lost around 3 percent, adding to a near 5-percent decline from a week before.

"remained under pressure as the market remained focused on the discussion between OPEC members about whether they should increase production later this year," ANZ said in a note.

"In the U.S., the data also presented a gloomy picture. production rose to another record, while drilling activity picked up again."

"We are going into summer, the high demand season, and I think we are going to see a fall in crude oil inventories, but is growing. Which one is going to win is the issue," said Tony Nunan, at in

Saudi Arabia, effective of the Organization of the Exporting Countries (OPEC), and have discussed boosting output to compensate for supply losses from and to address concerns about the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iranian output.

Russia's largest will be able to restore 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) of in just two days if global production limits are lifted, wrote in a client note.

U.S. crude production climbed in March to 10.47 million barrels per day (bpd), a monthly record, the said on Thursday.

U.S. drillers added two in the week to June 1, bringing the total to 861, the most since March 2015, General Electric Co's firm said on Friday. That was the eighth time drillers have added rigs in the past nine weeks.

Hedge funds and other money managers cut their bullish wagers on U.S. crude futures and options, according to data released on Friday, as slumped on oversupply fears.

The speculator group cut its combined futures and options position in and by 50,937 contracts to 370,980 during the week to May 29, the said.

(Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by and Joseph Radford)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, June 04 2018. 11:16 IST