London — Oil prices slipped on Monday as further increases in US drilling activity undercut an Opec-led push to tighten supply. Trading was subdued due to public holidays in China, the US and Britain, but concerns lingered over whether oil cartel Opec action would be enough to stem the tide of oversupply. Brent crude futures were trading down 19c at $51.96 a barrel at 8.57am GMT. The contract ended the previous week down nearly 3%. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were also down 19c at $49.61 a barrel. Opec and some non-Opec producers pledged last week to extend production cuts of about 1.8-million barrels a day until March 2018. An initial agreement, in place since January, would have expired in June 2017. Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch called Monday’s price moves little more than "intraday noise" but said hints of deeper cuts or a longer extension from Opec left the market deflated after the final decision. "They increased expectations to such an extent that nin...
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