2018-11-08
Oil prices held steady on Thursday as they came under pressure as the United States became the world's largest producer of crude after it reached its highest level ever, but oil was also supported as China continued on another record track of record imports.
 
By 0554 GMT, Brent crude futures for the month were near $ 72 a barrel, down seven cents from the previous close.
 
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were $ 61.72 a barrel, up 5 cents from the previous settlement price.
 
Standard US production is pushing prices. US production reached 11.6 million barrels per day in the week ending November 2, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
 
That is three times the level of US production 10 years ago and has been 22.2 percent more than the beginning of this year alone. The United States thus becomes the world's largest producer of crude.
 
More US oil is likely to be pumped. The Energy Information Administration expects production to exceed 12 million bpd by mid-2019 thanks to higher oil production.
 
Not only is production increasing in the United States, but also in several other countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Brazil, raising producers' concerns about the return of surplus supplies that have squeezed oil prices between 2014 and 2017.
 
But China's imports of crude oil are a record low, reducing concerns about renewed crude prices.
 
Data from the Chinese Customs Administration showed on Thursday that oil imports in October rose 32 percent year-on-year to 40.80 million tonnes, or 9.61 million bpd, from 9.05 million bpd in September. Imports touched the previous record high of 9.6 million bpd in April 2018.