Oil declined as rigs targeting crude in the US rose for a fifteenth week and output from Libya rebounded.
Futures in New York lost as much as 0.5 percent after gaining 0.7 percent Friday. The number of oil rigs operating in US fields advanced to the most since April 2015, according to Baker Hughes Inc. Libya’s crude production rebounded to more than 700,000 barrels a day as the Opec member’s biggest oil field and another deposit in its western region resumed pumping after a halt.
Oil has fallen the past two weeks amid concern growing US output will offset efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to trim a global glut. American production increased to the most since August 2015 and Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih has acknowledged that the first quarter of Opec-led curbs failed to bring stockpiles below the five-year average.
“The rising US rig count will continue to keep a lid on prices until we see inventories come down,” said Gary Burton, a Melbourne-based analyst with IG Ltd. “The price has flat-lined around this $49 mark and there’s little volatility to drive the price from there.”
West Texas Intermediate for June delivery lost as much as 26 cents to $49.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $49.08 at 11:10 a.m. in Dubai. Total volume traded was about 54 percent below the 100-day average. The contract on Friday increased 36 cents to $49.33.
Brent for July settlement lost as much as 31 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $51.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.39 to July WTI. Brent for June delivery expired Friday after adding 29 cents to $51.73.
US producers boosted the number of rigs drilling for oil by 9 to 697 machines, according to a report from Baker Hughes on Friday. Libya’s Sharara field is currently producing 216,400 barrels a day, while the El Feel, or Elephant, deposit is pumping 26,500 and is expected to boost output further, Jadalla Alaokali, a board member at the National Oil Corp., said Sunday.