Updated November 9, 2018, 12:42 AM
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices
were stable on Friday, pressured as the United States became the world’s top
crude producer after its output hit all-time highs, but supported as China
remained on track to register another year of record imports.
Front-month Brent crude oil futures
were at $72 a barrel at 0554 GMT, down 7 cents from their last close.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude futures were at $61.72 per barrel, up 5 cents from their previous
settlement. Weighing on prices was record US crude production, which hit 11.6
million barrels per day (bpd) in the week ending Nov. 2, according to Energy
Information Administration (EIA) data released on Wednesday.
That’s a threefold increase from the
US low reached a decade ago, and a 22.2 percent rise just this year. It makes
the United States the world’s biggest producer of crude. More US oil will
likely come. The EIA expects output to break through 12 million bpd by
mid-2019, largely thanks to a surge in shale oil production.
Meanwhile, US crude inventories rose
by 5.8 million barrels in the week ending Nov. 2, to 431.79 million barrels,
the EIA said.
No comments:
Post a Comment