Crude oil prices came close to three-month lows amid investors awaiting industry data that will decide the future course of the global market.
US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 dropped by 7 cents to reach $48.33 a barrel, its lowest since last November. Brent crude futures LCOc1 increased by 3 cents to $51.32 per barrel, reported Reuters.
Last week, the prices of oil plummeted amid growing concerns among investors that the increasing US output would undermine OPEC’s efforts to reduce global oil glut.
OPEC countries decided to curb its production by 1.8 million barrels in the first half of 2017.
ClipperData analyst Matt Smith was quoted by the news agency as saying: "It's shaping up to be another fun week in the crude complex, with OPEC releasing its monthly oil market report on Tuesday, swiftly followed by the IEA's monthly oil market report the day after."
The International Energy Agency is expected to publish its oil market report on Wednesday.
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By GlobalDataThe American Petroleum Institute is also scheduled to release its report on U.S. crude and product stockpiles later today.
Freight Investor Services commodities broker told Reuters: “I think this week is crucial to give us an idea of where prices will be for the rest of the year, all eyes will be on API data later, and a sniff of another big crude build and down we go towards $45.
The US government data stated that in April, the country’s shale oil production may witness the biggest monthly increase since last October driven by the rising production from Permian Basin.
Image: An offshore oil platform. Photo: courtesy of QR9iudjz0/ FreeImages.com.