London — Oil fell on Monday after US shale drillers added more rigs last week, but prices still held close to their highest since mid-2015, supported by an extension to output cuts agreed last week by Opec and other producers. Drillers in the US added two oil rigs in the week to December 1, bringing the total count to 749, the highest since September, energy services company Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report late on Friday. February Brent crude futures were down 54c at $63.19 a barrel by 10.03am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate was down 61c at $57.75. The Brent price hit a two-year high of $64.65 a month ago and has since attracted record investment by fund managers. The US rig count, an early indicator of future output, has risen sharply from 477 active rigs a year ago after energy companies boosted spending plans for 2017. Drillers were encouraged during 2017 to increase activity as crude prices started recovering from a multi-year price slump after oil cartel ...
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