Oil prices rose on Thursday but fell as much as 35% for the year after a race to pump by Middle East crude producers and US shale oil drillers created an unprecedented global glut that may take through 2016 to clear.
Global oil benchmark Brent and US crude’s West Texas Intermediate futures rose between 1% and 2% on the day on short-covering and buying support in a thinly traded market ahead of the New Year holiday, Reuters reported.
Brent crude settled up 82 cents at $37.28 a barrel, rebounding from a near 11-year low of $36.10 hit earlier in the session. For the month, it was down 16% and for the year, it fell 35%. In 2014, Brent lost 48%.
WTI rose 44 cents to $37.04 a barrel. It slid 11% in December and 30% for the year, after a 46% loss in 2014.
The US shale industry, meanwhile, surprised the world again with its ability to survive rock-bottom crude prices, churning out more supply than expected, even as the sell-off in oil slashed by two-thirds the number of drilling rigs in the country from a year ago.
