London — Oil fell to seven-month lows on Wednesday, set for its largest price slide in the first half of any year for the past two decades, as investors discounted evidence of strong compliance by oil cartel Opec and nonOpec producers with a deal to cut global output. August Brent crude futures were down 12 US cents at $45.85 a barrel by 8.38am GMT, after falling nearly 2% in the previous session to their lowest settlement since November. US crude futures for August were down 7c at $43.44, having hit their lowest since September on Tuesday. So far this year, oil has lost 20% in value, its worst performance for the first six months of the year since 1997. Compliance with an agreement by Opec and other producers to cut output by 1.8-million barrels per day from January reached its highest in May since the curbs were agreed on in 2016. "The slide in oil prices seems to be unstoppable," said Julius Baer commodities research analyst Carsten Menke. "The supply deal’s effectiveness increas...
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