New York — Oil prices fell nearly 2% on Monday as signs of a strong recovery in US drilling overshadowed news that Opec and non-Opec producers were on track to meet output reduction goals set in December. Ministers representing members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec producers said at a meeting in Vienna on Sunday that of the almost 1.8-million barrels per day (bpd) they had agreed to be taken out of the market, 1.5-million bpd had already been cut. "Despite comments over the weekend at the Opec compliance meeting that cuts in Opec/non-Opec production were ahead of schedule, a sharp rise in US rig counts and talk of large increases in capital spending seem to be souring the bullish mood," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Chicago-based brokerage Price Futures Group. US drillers added the most rigs in nearly four years last week, data from energy services company Baker Hughes showed on Friday, extending an eight-month drilling recovery. Brent cr...
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