Oil Prices Down On Strong U.S. Supply
WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) — While geopolitical concerns hold Brent crude prices relatively steady, West Texas Intermediate sinks on high U.S. supply and strong U.S. dollar.
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West Texas Intermediate for the April contract was trading at $50.26 Friday morning, down 50 cents from Thursday’s close. Brent, the global benchmark, was trading at $60.31, down 17 cents from Thursday’s close.
Oil prices are off about half their June value, as U.S. inventories accumulate, which has led to planned spending cuts in exploration and production.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 8.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 434.1 million barrels, it is at the highest level for this time of year in at least 80 years, despite falling rig counts and spending cuts in exploration and production.
Oil services company Baker Hughes on Friday published its monthly rig count report for February, and the average U.S. rig count for the month was 1,348, down 335 from January and down 421 year-on-year.
Earlier in the week, a deteriorating security situation led Libya’s National Oil Corp. to declare force majeure on 11 oilfields in the country, just after recent gains realized after restarting operations at the country’s largest field.
The U.S. Labor Department on Friday reported non-farm payrolls rose 295,000 in February, and the unemployment rate fell from 5.7 percent to 5.5 percent, its lowest level since May 2008.
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