Oil Prices Hold Near Recent Lows Amid Worries Over Higher Supplies

Investing.com – Oil prices got off to a lackluster start on Monday, as rising U.S. crude production and expectations that OPEC members will raise supplies remained in focus.

fell as low as $65.57 per barrel, touching their lowest level in almost two months. It last traded at $65.84 at 4:05AM ET (0805GMT), little changed on the day.

Last week, the U.S. benchmark lost roughly 3%, adding to a near 5% decline from a week before.

Underscoring worries over rising output, U.S. energy companies added two oil rigs in the week to June 1, bringing the total count to , the highest level since March 2015, General Electric (NYSE:)’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.

U.S. crude production has been rising to record levels since late last year. In March it jumped 215,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.47 million bpd, a new monthly record, the Energy Information Administration said last week.

Only Russia currently produces more, at around 11 million bpd.

Elsewhere, futures were down 15 cents at $76.64 a barrel, after losing 1% on Friday.

Prices in recent sessions have declined on concerns that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members led by Russia would decide to lift output by up to 1 million barrels a day as early as this month in reaction to lost supplies out of Venezuela and Iran.

OPEC is scheduled to hold its next meeting in Vienna on June 22.

Meanwhile, Brent’s premium over WTI futures remained near three-year highs above $10 a barrel. The premium has doubled in less than a month, as a lack of pipeline capacity in the United States has trapped a lot of output inland.

Fresh data on U.S. commercial crude inventories as traders seek to gauge how fast domestic output levels will continue to rise now that U.S. oil production has come close to matching that of top producer Russia.

Comments from global oil producers for additional signals on whether they plan to extend their current production-cut agreement into next year will also remain on the forefront.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.