Record US output puts pressure on oil
Weakening factory output in China and Japan drags down Brent, but markets remain relatively well supported by Opec-led supply cuts
Singapore — Oil prices dipped on Thursday, dragged down by weakening factory output in China and Japan, and record US crude output, although supply cuts led by producer cartel Opec support markets. International Brent crude futures were at $66.15 a barrel at 2.48am GMT, down 24c, or 0.4% from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $56.92 a barrel, down 2c from their last settlement. Prices were dragged down by surging American crude oil production, which has risen by more than 2-million barrels a day over the past year, to an unprecedented 12.1-million barrels a day. Traders said China’s weakening economy also weighed on oil prices. Factory activity in China, the world’s biggest oil importer, shrank for the third consecutive month in February. China’s official manufacturing gauge fell to a three-year low, highlighting deepening cracks in an economy facing persistently weak demand at home and abroad. In Japan, Asia’s second-biggest economy, facto...
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