Singapore — Oil prices retreated in early Asian trade on Tuesday, halting a run of eight straight days of gains on signs that a relentless rise in US crude production is running out of steam. Brent crude futures fell 27c or 0.5% to $49.41 a barrel by 3.54am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 24c or 0.5% at $46.83 a barrel. The falls came after both benchmarks rebounded about 12% from their recent lows on June 21. Many traders closed positions ahead of the US Independence Day holiday on Tuesday, while Brent also faced technical resistance as it approached $50 a barrel, traders said. Despite this, market sentiment has shifted somewhat. Late May and most of June were overwhelmingly bearish as US output rose and doubts grew over the ability of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to hold back enough production to tighten the market. But sentiment began to shift towards the end of June, when US data showed a dip in American oil output an...
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