OPEC Oil Output Up a Sixth Straight Month To Reach a Record In November: Report

Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose by 320,000 barrels a day in November from a month earlier, to a record 33.86 million barrels a day, according to a S&P Global Platts survey released late Thursday afternoon. That marked a sixth-monthly increase in a row, the survey of OPEC and oil industry officials said. The monthly increase "illustrates the challenge OPEC faces implementing a production cut it finalized in Vienna last week with the aim of accelerating the global oil market's rebalancing," S&P Global Platts said in its report. The oil-producer group said it would ease output back to a ceiling of 32.5 million barrels a day. January West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $50.87 a barrel in electronic trading, after settling at $50.84 for the New York Mercantile Exchange session.