London — Oil prices regained some ground on Thursday, after steep losses in the previous session, as leading Gulf oil producers signalled a likely extension of oil cartel Opec-led supply cuts beyond the middle of the year. Brent crude futures were at $53.43 a barrel at 8.55am GMT, up 50c from their last close. US crude futures were up 43c at $50.87 a barrel. Opec members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signalled that an effort by the cartel and other producers, including Russia, to cut oil output was likely to be extended beyond June. But bloated inventories weighed. Despite a drop in US crude stocks last week, an unexpected 1.5-million-barrel build in gasoline stocks drove prices more than 3.5% lower on Wednesday. US crude oil production rose to 9.25-million barrels per day (BPD), official data showed, up almost 10% since mid-2016. "The re-balancing in US crude stocks may have got under way, but concerns of further gasoline builds are rife even as the US summer driving season shifts up a g...
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