Singapore — Oil prices fell on Friday as surging output by the world’s three largest producers outweighed supply concerns from the start of US sanctions next week against Iran’s petroleum exports. Front-month Brent crude futures were at $72.60 a barrel at 4.41am GMT on Friday, down 29c, or 0.4%, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 24c, or 0.4%, at $63.45 a barrel. Brent has fallen more than 12% since the beginning of October, while WTI has lost more than 13% in value. “More troubling … is the shift in structure towards contango,” US investment bank Jefferies said on Friday. Contango implies oversupply as it means prices for future delivery are higher than for immediate dispatch. This makes it attractive for traders to store oil for later sale, although Jefferies said “spreads are still insufficient to encourage physical storage”. Prices for April 2019 delivery are around 20c above January. Downward pressure on oil is also visible in the ph...
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