Investing.com – Crude oil prices settled lower on Friday as investors fretted over rising US production to near record highs dampening positive sentiment which followed a report OPEC members deepened production cuts in December.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for February delivery fell 0.92% to settle at $61.44 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent lost 0.63% to trade at $67.63 a barrel.
Oil prices came under pressure amid ongoing fears of rising U.S. production, which remained near record levels, despite data showing the number of US oil rigs fell by the most since November.
The number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. fell by five to 742, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes.
U.S. production jumped by 28,000 barrels a day to nearly 9.8 million barrels a day, EIA reported on Thursday, sparking fears that US crude production could rise above 10 million bpd.
Oil prices notched their fourth weekly gain as Friday’s losses were offset by gains earlier in the week after the prospect of supply disruptions in Iran rose following political tensions, while tightening US crude supplies lifted sentiment.
Inventories of U.S. crude fell by roughly 7.4 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 29, beating expectations of a draw of 4.7 million barrels.
Also helping stem losses in oil prices was a report from Reuters, citing a survey, indicating that Opec members deepened production cuts in December, raising compliance with the deal to curb output to 128% from 125% in November.
OPEC in November agreed to extend 1.2 million bpd output cuts through 2018 to rid the market of excess supplies in an effort to ensure global inventories revert to their five-year average.