Oil prices slipped back to three-month lows on Wednesday after data showed US crude inventories rising faster than expected, piling pressure on OPEC to extend output cuts beyond June.
A deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017 has had little impact on bulging global stockpiles of oil. Benchmark Brent crude was down 82 cents at $50.14 per barrel at 0936 GMT (5:36 a.m. ET), after dropping to $50.05, its lowest level since OPEC announced on Nov. 30 its plan for cuts. The deal with non-OPEC states was reached in December.
U.S. light crude was down 70 cents at $47.54 a barrel, also slipping toward a three-month low. "The lower the price goes, the higher the pressure on OPEC to extend cuts," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.
-Reuters, London
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