U.S. crude prices move lower on signs of rising output

LONDON, August 4, 2017 – U.S. oil moved lower on Friday, as concerns over rising production by the U.S. and OPEC members weighed on demand for the commodity.

U.S. crude futures for September delivery were down 0.98% at $48.55 a barrel, the lowest since August 1.

On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the October Brent declined 0.96% to $51.51 a barrel.

Oil prices dropped following a report saying that crude exports by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose to a record high in July, most of which coming from Nigeria, which posted a rise of 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) in shipments.

In addition, U.S., oil production has hit 9.43 million bpd, the highest since August 2015.

The commodity had strengthened earlier in the week, after investors viewed weekly U.S. inventory data on crude and refined products as bullish.

The Energy Information Administration reported a 1.5 million barrel drop in U.S. crude supplies last week, below analysts’ expectations.

However, gasoline inventories fell by a more-than-expected 2.5 million barrels while demand hit a record above 9.8 million barrels a day, the EIA said.

Oil traders are looking ahead to a technical meeting of some OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Abu Dhabi next week to assess how the group can increase compliance with production cuts that began at the start of this year.

So far, the output deal has had little impact on global inventory levels due to rising supply from producers not participating in the accord, such as Libya and Nigeria, as well as a relentless increase in U.S. shale output.

Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for September was down less than half a cent to $1.641 a gallon, while September heating oil was little changed at $1.657 a gallon.

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