CRUDE OIL PRICES FALL AS RISING U.S. OUTPUT OFFSETS OPEC-LED CUTS

[forextips]

Oil prices dipped on Tuesday as rising U.S. drilling activity offset efforts by OPEC and other producers to cut output in a move to prop up the market.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.16 per barrel at 0421 GMT, down 7 cents from their last close.

Since their January peak, Brent has lost over 5.5 percent in value.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $52.44 a barrel, down 19 cents from their previous settlement, and WTI is down 2.85 percent since its January peak.

The falls reflect a sentiment that efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output by almost 1.8 barrel per day (bpd) in order to end overproduction were so far not big enough to offset rising U.S. drilling.

"Crude oil prices continued to struggle as traders remained concerned about increasing drilling activity in the U.S.," ANZ bank said on Tuesday.

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