Oil continues to fall
Oil has fallen for four days as U.S. exports have raised concerns about oversupply. Oil prices settled after four days of declines as U.S. export growth and doubts about whether it can meet planned OPEC+ output cuts have raised concerns about oversupply. Global benchmark Brent was trading above $77 a barrel after falling more than 7% in the previous four sessions, while U.S. crude was near $72. American crude shipments are near a record 6 million barrels a day, ship-tracking companies estimate. The decline in crude since the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced deeper output cuts on Thursday suggests the market is skeptical about the extent to which voluntary cuts will be implemented. Futures have fallen by nearly a quarter from their peak in late September on concerns that rising output from outside the group will outpace rising demand. Reflecting the weakness, Saudi Arabia slashed its official sales prices to Asia by the most since February. Still, the cuts were smaller than expected, which could prompt some Asian crude buyers to look elsewhere for supplies as they look to get fewer shipments from the kingdom in January. “Crude is oversold,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore, adding that weak liquidity is likely exacerbating price action. In another sign that supply is healthy, the American Petroleum Institute said inventories both across the U.S. and at its Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub rose last week, according to people familiar with the figures. Official data is due later on Wednesday.