Crude Oil Prices Start the Week on The Backfoot

Investing.com – Crude prices were a bit lower to start the week on Monday, as reduced expectations for an extension of OPEC-led output curbs combined with fears over rising U.S. output weighed on sentiment.

futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., shed 17 cents, or around 0.3%, to $62.55 a barrel by 3:25AM ET (0825GMT).

Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 4 cents, or about 0.1%, to $56.66 a barrel.

Oil prices , but failed to offset their first weekly loss in six weeks, amid ongoing investor fears that rising U.S. output would dampen OPEC’s efforts to rid the market of excess supplies.

Domestic U.S. output has rebounded by almost 15% since the most recent low in mid-2016, casting doubts over the past few months’ narrative of tightening energy markets.

Meanwhile, growing concern that Russia was reluctant to support an extension of an existing OPEC-led production cut agreement further weighed.

Under the original terms of the deal, OPEC and 10 other non-OPEC countries led by Russia agreed to cut production by 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd) for six months. The agreement was extended in May of this year for a period of nine more months until March 2018 in a bid to reduce global oil inventories and support oil prices.

Discussions are continuing in the run-up to the Nov. 30 meeting, which oil ministers from OPEC and the participating non-OPEC countries will attend.

In the week ahead, trade volumes are expected to remain light around Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday and Friday’s shortened trading session.

Market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on and to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.

In other energy trading, declined 0.6 cents, or 0.4%, to $1.739 a gallon, while lost half a cent to $1.942 a gallon.

dropped 5.6 cents, or 1.8%, to $3.040 per million British thermal units.

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