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Crude oil futures recovered from earlier losses on Friday, but the U.S. benchmark price was poised for declines for the second week, weighed down by record U.S. Production and bets of OPEC bolstering production.
U.S. WTI crude edged down 16 cents or 0.2 percent, to $66.88 per barrel, after declining almost 2 percent on Thursday. International benchmark Brent crude which was little changed in the prior session, fell 9 cents or 0.1 percent to $77.47 per barrel.
For the week, WTI is on track for a 1.5 percent decline, adding to the previous week's near 5 percent drop, while Brent is slated to increase 1.3 percent, widening the spread between the two benchmarks.
U.S. crude production has been steadily increasing to record-high levels since late last year. In March it surged 215,000 barrels per day to 10.47 million bpd, a new monthly record, the EIA said on Thursday.
On Thursday, the premium for Brent over WTI surpassed $11 per barrel, the biggest since early 2015. It has incrased by twofold in less than a month, as a lack of pipeline capacity in the country has trapped a lot of output inland.
The EIA said U.S crude stockpiles declined 3.6 million barrels in the previous week, topping estimates for a drop of 250, 000 barrels.
