New York — Oil prices fell slightly on Friday after the International Energy Agency said weak Opec compliance with production cuts was prolonging a rebalancing of the market despite strong demand growth. Brent crude was down 11c at $51.79 a barrel at 3.53pm GMT, having earlier fallen 50c, or around 1%, to its lowest since August 1. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 15c at $48.44 per barrel, having earlier dropped 1% to its lowest since July 26. US crude was on track to close more than 2.4% lower on the week, with Brent on track to close 1.8% lower. Oil touched two-and-a-half-month highs on Thursday but closed down amid oversupply concerns. The IEA said Opec’s compliance with the cuts in July had fallen to 75%, the lowest since those curbs began in January. It cited weak compliance by Algeria, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, Opec member Libya, which is exempt from the cuts, steeply increased output. "Crude oil prices failed to hold recent gains, with a nervous...
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