2019.02.2006:13:00UTC+00Oil Prices Pull Back Amid Surging US Supply

Oil prices pulled back from recent highs on Wednesday as surging U.S. output and concerns over slowing global growth overshadowed investor optimism over OPEC-led supply cuts as well as the U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.

Global benchmark Brent crude dropped nearly half a percent to $66.14 per barrel, not far off their 2019 high of 66.83 dollars per barrel reached on Monday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were down 0.3 percent at $56.30 per barrel after hitting 2019 highs of 56.39 earlier in the day.

U.S. crude production jumped by more than 2 million bpd in 2018 to a record 11.9 million bpd amid booming shale oil production, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday in a report.

Output is expected to keep rising while the global economy witnesses a synchronized slowdown in growth, according to BNP Paribas.