Brent crude oil futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, have declined in the wake of an increase in US crude production and expectations of a rise in supplies from the OPEC-led producers.
The prices fell for the second successive session in the day.
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Brent futures fell by 10 cents, or 0.1%, trading at $76.69 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures remained steady at $65.81 after losing around 3% last week, Reuters reported.
ANZ bank was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Crude oil remained under pressure as the market remained focused on the discussion between OPEC members about whether they should increase production later this year.
“In the US, the data also presented a gloomy picture. Crude oil production rose to another record, while drilling activity picked up again.”
Saudi Arabia and Russia recently held negotiations to raise output in order to compensate for supply losses from Venezuela.
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By GlobalDataThe expected increase in output from the countries is also aimed at allaying fears about the impact of US sanctions on Iranian output.
Data released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on 31 May indicated that US crude production in March soared to 10.47 million barrels per day.
Mitsubishi oil risk manager Tony Nunan said: “We are going into summer, the high demand season, and I think we are going to see a fall in US crude oil inventories, but shale oil output is growing. Which one is going to win is the issue.”
Meanwhile, energy services firm Baker Hughes noted that US drillers added two oil rigs in the week ending 1 June.
The total count of US drill rigs now stands at 861, which represents the most since March 2015.
