Oil falls on rising output from OPEC and United States

Oil prices fell on Monday amid rising supply from OPEC and the United States, outweighing concerns that falling Iranian output will tighten markets once U.S. sanctions bite from November. International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $77.43 per barrel at 0222 GMT, down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $69.62 per barrel, down 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last settlement.

Output from the producer cartel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) between July and August, to a 2018-high of 32.79 million bpd, a Reuters survey found. Output was boosted by a recovery in Libyan production and as Iraq’s southern exports hit a record.

Meanwhile, U.S. drillers added oil rigs for the first time in three weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes reported on Friday, increasing the rig count by 2 units to 862. The high rig count has helped lift U.S. crude oil production C-OUT-T-EIA by more than 30 percent since mid-2016, to 11 million bpd. Many analysts have warned that an economic slowdown because of trade disputes between the United States and other major economies including China and the European Union would drag on oil demand.