U.S. oil prices dip on rising crude inventories, record output

U.S. crude oil inventories C-STK-T-EIA climbed by 1.3 million barrels in the week that ended Feb. 1, to 447.21 million barrels, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, average weekly U.S. crude oil production remained at the record 11.9 million barrels per day (bpd) C-OUT-T-EIA it reached in late 2018.

Countering the rising U.S. crude output and inventories are voluntary supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) aimed at tightening the market and propping up prices. U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s oil industry are expected to knock out at least 500,000 bpd of crude exports. expect the oil price to rise in the first-half of 2019 on tightening supply conditions and decline in the second-half on weakening economic activity and an increase in U.S. crude exports to international markets