Previously, the oil markets have been fell by more than 7 percent. Crude oil has lost over a quarter of its value since early October in what has become one of the biggest declines since prices collapsed in 2014. But on Wednesday the oil markets struggled to find their footing, with surging supply and the specter of faltering demand keeping investors on edge.
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 4 cents at $65.51 per barrel.
By mid-November, the curve had flipped into contango, when crude prices for immediate delivery are cheaper than those for later dispatch. That implies an oversupplied market as it makes it attractive to store oil for later sale
U.S. crude oil output from its seven major shale basins is expected to hit a record of 7.94 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.
That surge in onshore output has helped overall U.S. crude production C-OUT-T-EIA hit a record 11.6 million bpd, making the United States the world’s biggest oil producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Most analysts expect U.S. output to climb above 12 million bpd within the first half of 2019.
