Oil prices down as output, stocks remain high in US

Monitoring Desk

ANKARA: Crude oil prices were down to kick off the new week on Monday as crude oil inventories and near record high levels of output in the United States continue to keep downward pressure on prices.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $61.91 per barrel at 0705GMT with a 0.51% decline after it closed the previous session at $62.23 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $52.60 a barrel at the same time with a 0.64% loss after previously closing at $52.94 per barrel.

The glut of supply in the global oil market continues to keep downward pressure on oil prices, as crude production in the U.S. remains at near record high levels despite production cuts in Venezuela and Iran.

The world’s top oil producer U.S. saw its crude output falling by 98,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 12.3 million bpd (mbpd) for the week ending June 7, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Despite the decline, the crude production level was near the all-time high of 12.4 million bpd that was seen by the country during the week before.

Commercial crude oil inventories continue to remain high in the U.S., as well, standing at 485.5 million barrels for the week ending June 7, which is a level last seen during July 2017, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. (AA)