Oil dips under $ 111 on high US output, inventories

Friday, 29 November 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Brent oil slipped below $111 per barrel on Thursday, weighed by a bigger-than-expected rise in US crude stockpiles, but Libyan supply disruption kept prices supported.

Brent crude fell 38 cents to $110.93 a barrel by 0944 GMT It is still up 2% in November, and over $8 above its low for the month. US oil fell 12 cents to $92.18, hovering near the lowest in almost six months. It touched a low of $91.77 on Wednesday, its weakest since 3 June. US crude oil stocks rose by almost 3 million barrels to 391 million barrels, their highest level for November since records began in 1982, the Energy Information Administration said in weekly data on Wednesday. The EIA also said US crude oil output last week exceeded eight million bpd for the first time since January 1989. Earlier this month, its data showed that crude production exceeded imports for the first time in nearly two decades. Refiners in Europe and the United States are coming back from maintenance and increasing output which has seen demand for crude recovering. International Energy Agency (IEA) head Maria van der Hoeven said oil markets were adequately supplied even with the prospect of dwindling crude output from Libya. In addition, Iranian supplies may increase if Tehran follows through on its commitments reached in a breakthrough deal with world powers over its nuclear programme at the weekend. Brent oi’’s premium to US crude was at $18.92 per barrel, just off its highest level since March.