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US Crude Oil Little Changed After Losses

US Crude Oil Little Changed After Losses
US Crude Oil Little Changed After Losses

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.

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