Oil Futures Ebb on Monday as OPEC Output Flows

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Oil futures eroded on Monday upon news that OPEC production has reached its highest peak since August 2008, according to a Bloomberg MarketWatch report.

S&P Global Platts indicated that OPEC’s June output surged by nearly 300,000 barrels a day from the previous month, sparking widespread concern that global output will continue to disrupt oil futures markets.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August West Texas Intermediate crude fell 65 cents, or 1.4%, to finish at $44.76 a barrel.

On London’s ICE Futures Exchange, September Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped 51 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $46.25 a barrel.

“There is a concern that demand might be falling when supply might be on the rise,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, in an email statement.

“Any suspicion that U.S. producers are increasing their output will spook investors because the outlook for global demand growth is still not very clear,” said Gao Jian, an energy analyst at SCI International.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August natural gas fell 9.9 cents, or 3.5%, to settle at $2.702 per million British thermal units.