Singapore — Oil prices fell on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump proposed the sale of half the country’s strategic oil reserves, even as producer club Opec and its allies cut output to tighten the market. Brent crude futures were trading down 23c, or 0.4/oz, at $53.64 a barrel at 4.50am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $50.91, down 22c, or 0.4%. The White House budget plan would gradually sell off half of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile to raise $16.5bn from October 2018, documents released on Monday showed. It also suggested opening up more production in Alaska. The budget, which will be delivered to Congress on Tuesday, is meant as a proposal and may not take effect in its current form. But it reveals the administration’s policy hopes, which include ramping up US energy output. The plan was released just a day after Trump left Opec’s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia following his first overseas state visit. Any large release of US strategic reserves wou...
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