Oil Prices Rally Despite U.S. High Output

• Oil Prices Rally Despite U.S. High Output
• U.S Output Rose by 100,000 bpd Last Week

Global oil prices rallied on Friday after data showed the United States crude oil output rose to a record high of 12 million barrels per day last week.

U.S. crude production rose by 100,000 bpd from 11.9 million bpd recorded in the previous week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Friday.

The Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian crude is measured, first declined by 0.3 per cent before rallying up by 0.5 per cent to trade at $67.55 a barrel. While the U.S West Texas Intermediate was up by 0.91 per cent to trade at $57.48.

Analysts attributed the gain in price, despite the negative news, to positive comments from trade negotiating teams. Investors believe a positive trade agreement between the U.S. and China will increase global oil demand and eventually boost prices.

Still, some experts think rising U.S. production will disrupt OPEC strategy and hurt oil prices going forward.

“We see total U.S. crude production hitting 13 million bpd by year-end, with 2019 averaging 12.5 million bpd,” U.S. bank Citi said following the release of the EIA report.

Of that, the bank said, “We could be seeing some weeks with 4.6 million bpd of gross crude exports by end-year, adding to this week’s new record” of 3.6 million bpd.