London — Oil prices fell on Wednesday on expectations that US producers would boost output, while OPEC signalled a drop in the global oil supply surplus this year as the producer group’s output fell back from a record high. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were down $1.05 at $54.42 a barrel at 1455 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading down $1 at $51.48 per barrel. U.S. shale production is set to snap a three-month decline in February, the US Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, as energy firms boost drilling activity with crude prices hovering near 18-month highs. February production will edge up 40,750 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.748 million bpd, the EIA said. In January, it was expected to drop by 5,900 bpd. "It’s the eternal question about the current flat price and what it does to US crude oil production," Petromatrix oil strategist Olivier Jakob said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Count...
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