London — Oil markets edged lower on Monday as ongoing output cuts led by Opec were countered by rising US drilling activity that points to a further increase in American production. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were 15c lower at $63.25 a barrel at 9.50am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.03 a barrel, down 33c from their last settlement. Both Brent and WTI crude oil settled more than 1% higher on Friday, and oil prices have gained much more than a third in value from their 2017 lows. "It’s time for a breather," said Warren Patterson, commodities strategist with ING. The gains are largely due to production cuts by oil cartel Opec and a group of non-Opec producers, including Russia, which have been in place since the start of the year. But analysts said the effect of these cuts could be undermined by rising output from the US, which is not participating in the deal to voluntarily withhold production. The number of rigs d...
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