Oil prices plunge more than 7% as US output rises
Oil prices continued their decline on Tuesday – falling more than 7 percent – dragged down by overproduction concerns.
During Tuesday’s trading session, oil closed below $47 per barrel for the first time since September 2017.
WTI crude settled at $46.24 per barrel, down $3.64. Monday marked the first day in a year that prices closed below $50 per barrel.
Prices declined after the Energy Information Administration reported on Monday that U.S. shale output could rise above 8 million barrels per day for the first time ever next month. At the same time, Reuters reported the barrel-per-day output rate from Russia could also hit an all-time-high.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed earlier this month to resume output cuts. They agreed to 1.2 million barrels per day of production cuts for the coming year.
Oil’s decline on Tuesday also dragged down stocks within the energy sector.