New York — Brent crude hit its lowest price in nearly a month on Tuesday following after sources said the US government had asked Saudi Arabia and other major exporters to increase oil output. Brent crude futures fell 99c by 3.48pm GMT to $74.30 a barrel, a 1.3% loss, after falling earlier in the day to $73.81, the lowest since May 8. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 1c to $64.76 a barrel. Earlier, WTI hit a session low of $64.22, its lowest since April 10. The US government has unofficially asked Saudi Arabia and some other oil cartel Opec producers to raise oil output, three Opec and industry sources said, although it has not requested a specific figure. Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the US government had asked them to increase oil production by about 1-million barrels per day (bpd). The request comes after US retail petrol prices surged to their highest in more than three years and US President Donald Trump publicly complained about Opec policy an...

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