Oil Falls Below $50 as Surging U.S. Output Undermines OPEC Cuts
- American production expands to highest level since August 2015
- Some producers reached deal on extending OPEC curbs: Al-Falih
Oil Heads for Biggest Weekly Loss Since March
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Oil dropped below $50 a barrel as investors lost faith that an extension of OPEC-led supply cuts will overcome growing U.S. production and ease a global glut.
Front-month futures in New York fell 6.7 percent this week, the biggest loss since early March. While a number of exporters have reached an initial deal to extend the curbs past June, according to Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih, rising U.S. output is raising concern that those cuts will be undermined. OPEC and its allies have failed after three months of cuts to meet their goal of reducing global supplies below the five-year historical average, Al-Falih said.