London — Oil traded flat on Friday, hovering near a 10-month low in US prices hit earlier this week, and remained on course for its biggest first-half decline in almost two decades as production cuts have failed to reduce oversupply. Brent crude futures were down 8 cents at 45.14 a barrel at 13.37pm GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at 42.64 a barrel, down 10c. Oil prices have fallen about 20% this year despite an effort led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production by 1.8-million barrels per day (bpd). That puts the market on course for its biggest first-half percentage fall since the late 1990s, when rising output and the Asian financial crisis led to sharp losses. "It is doubtful whether the end of the downward spiral ... has already been reached. After all, there is still no end to the bearish news that could continue to drive short-term investors from the market," wrote analysts at Commerzbank, referring to rising Nigeri...
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