Crude oil prices slightly pulled back Thursday, as rising oversupply in the global market continues to cause concerns for investors who will be zeroing in on the much-awaited meeting between OPEC and Russia next month in the hope of seeing production cuts.
After gaining 1.5 percent on Wednesday to close at $63.45 per barrel, global benchmark Brent crude fell to as low as $63 a barrel before 7:00 GMT on Thursday with a 0.7 percent decline.
The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 2.3 percent to close at $54.65 on Wednesday, but dropped to as low as $54.28 on Thursday at 7:00 GMT, posting a 0.67 percent loss.
The U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday the country's weekly crude oil inventories last week rose by 4.9 million barrels from the week before. The market expectation was a 2.5 million-barrel increase.
While the U.S.' crude oil production in the U.S remained almost unchanged at its record high level of 11.7 million barrels, President Donald Trump thanked Saudi Arabia for low oil prices.
'Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82. Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let’s go lower!' Trump wrote Wednesday on Twitter.
In addition to rising output worries from the U.S., Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said Wednesday that Baghdad would increase oil exports from fields in the northern province of Kirkuk to Turkey's Ceyhan seaport on the Mediterranean coast from 60,000 to 100,000 barrels per day.
Investors will now focus on the meeting between OPEC members and Russia to be held on Dec. 6 in Vienna where the crude producing nations could cut output in order to raise falling prices.
OPEC, however, is under constant pressure from Trump who wants lower gasoline prices for Americans and said last week that the cartel should not cut production.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr