Singapore/London — Oil prices eased on Wednesday as bullish output forecasts by two big US producers and a build in weekly US crude stockpiles outweighed oil cartel Opec-led production cuts. Brent crude futures were at $65.74 a barrel at 2.16pm GMT, down 12c from their last settlement. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were down 45c at $56.11 a barrel. “Crude oil futures continue to demonstrate whippy trades as markets balance between Opec-led cuts and the effects of rising US production levels,” said Benjamin Lu, commodities analyst at Singapore-based brokerage firm Phillip Futures. Increasingly, event-driven trading is adding to market volatility, he said. Chevron and ExxonMobil released rival Permian Basin projections on Tuesday pointing to increased shale oil production. If realised, the increases will cement the pair as the dominant players in the West Texas and New Mexico field, with one-third of Permian production potentially under their control within five y...
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