US oil prices continued to slide this morning to bring losses so far this week to more than $1 a barrel as burgeoning supplies from the OPEC producers' group eased worries over a summer fuel crunch.
US light crude fell 31 cents to $37.28 a barrel, a retracement of 12 per cent, or more than $5, from a 21-year peak struck on June 2nd at $42.45. London's Brent crude was down 44 cents at $35.05 a barrel.
Analysts said estimates that OPEC, which controls half of world crude exports, was pumping at the fastest rate in three-and-a-half years were helping to push oil down and countered concerns over militant attacks in Middle East producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Output by the 10 core members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries bound by quotas was expected to rise by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June, according to tanker tracking consultancy Petrologistics.
That would bring OPEC 10 production to 27.4 million bpd, 3.9 million bpd above the group's formal output ceiling of 23.5 million bpd. On July 1st, production limits are due to go up to 25.5 million bpd and to rise by another 500,000 bpd on August 1st.