Oil prices dipped on Thursday as OPEC output curbs were negated by another rise in US inventories.
June Brent crude futures LCOc2 fell 35 cents to reach $68.41 a barrel, while the May contract LCOc1 fell 26 cents to reach $69.27, reported Reuters.
WTI crude futures CLc1 fell seven cents to $64.31 a barrel.
Petromatrix strategist Olivier Jakob was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Right now, oil looks fragile.
“The price action last week was pretty clear. The objective on that move was to take out the highs of 2018, but that’s not been done and the price action of the last three days has not been very convincing.”
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, began output curbs in January 2017, which lifted the price of Brent by 25% since then.
OPEC is likely to continue with output curbs for the rest of 2018 when they meet in June.
However, growing inventories and production in the US has reduced gains in crude prices.
According to Energy Information Administration (EIA), Commercial US stocks grew by 1.6 million barrels in the last week C-STK-T-EIA to 429.95 million barrels, while output touched a record 10.43 million barrels per day.
Oil production in the US has increased by almost 25% in the last two years, crossing ten million barrels per day, even beating top exporter Saudi Arabia and almost touching the levels of Russia, the biggest producer that generates around 11 million barrels per day.
