Oil prices fall 1 percent amid supply glut worries

Tuesday,   18-Dec-2018   09:08 AM (IST)

Oil prices dropped 1 percent on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session as reports of a big climb in U.S. inventories and forecasts of record shale output stoked worries about oversupply.Concerns around future oil demand amid weakening global economic growth and doubts over the impact of planned OPEC-led production cuts were also pressuring prices, traders said.International Brent crude oil futures were at $58.95 per barrel, down 66 cents, or 1.11 percent, from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 40 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $49.48 per barrel.Both U.S. crude and Brent have shed more than 30 percent from early October amid swelling global inventories, with WTI currently trading at levels not seen since October 2017.Inventories at the U.S. storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, rose by more than 1 million barrels from Dec. 11 to 14, traders said, citing data from market intelligence firm Genscape on Monday.Meanwhile, oil production from seven major U.S. shale basins is expected to climb to 8.03 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time on record by year-end, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday.With oil prices now falling, unprofitable shale producers will eventually stop operating and cut supply, but that will take some time, analysts said.