US crude oil steadied on Friday after deep losses in the previous session on pressure from all-time high US production and expectations of higher OPEC output.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2 cents to $67.06 a barrel, after dropping almost 2% on Thursday. Brent crude, which was little changed in the previous session, added 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $77.73 per barrel, CNBC reported.
US crude production has been rising to record high levels since late last year. In March, it jumped 215,000 bpd to reach 10.47 million bpd, a new monthly record, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
Still, US crude stockpiles fell 3.6 million barrels last week, the EIA said, exceeding expectations for a decline of 525,000 barrels.
"A drop in inventories in the US was overshadowed by US output that jumped to a record high level," ANZ said in a note.
"With the markets still concerned about supply-side issues in OPEC, this has pushed the Brent-WTI spread out to nearly $11/bbl, the highest level for three years."
Brent hit a three-week low below $75 a barrel on Monday after OPEC and its allies, including Russia, indicated they could adjust their deal to curb supplies and increase production, but recovered later in the week.
