Oil prices fall amid record US output, stockpile build.
PHOTO:REUTERS
Brent crude futures had fallen 21 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $72.69 a barrel by 0615 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 7 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $68.69.
The US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that US crude oil production reached 11 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time. The country has added nearly 1 million bpd in production since November, thanks to rapid increases in shale drilling.
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More is likely to come to market before long, Rystad Energy said.
“We are still bullish on US shale, though we expect to see a temporary plateau in 2019 due to the bottlenecks of pipelines and, indeed, manpower and drivers,” said Yosuke Uehara, vice-president at Rystad Energy in Japan.
A sharp jump in US crude oil inventories also added to the bearish tone in the market.
US crude stocks rose by 5.8 million barrels last week, compared with a forecast of a decline of 3.6 million barrels.
Although both crude benchmarks had climbed 1 percent on Wednesday, with other EIA data showing US gasoline stockpiles fell along with supplies of distillate fuels.
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US gasoline inventories dropped by 3.2 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, declined by 371,000 barrels, the EIA said.
A Reuters poll taken before the data release had forecast that gasoline stocks would be unchanged and distillate stockpiles would show a build of around 900,000 barrels.
Meanwhile, OPEC and non-OPEC’s compliance with oil output curbs declined to around 120 per cent in June from 147 per cent in May, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
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