December 09, 2018:
Oil prices fell recently, hit by rising supplies in the United States.
America turned into a net oil exporter last week, breaking almost 75 years of continued dependence on foreign oil & marking a pivotal -- even if likely brief -- moment toward what US President Donald Trump has branded as "energy independence".
The shift to net exports is the dramatic result of an unprecedented boom in American oil production, with thousands of wells pumping from the Permian region of Texas & New Mexico to the Bakken in North Dakota to the Marcellus in Pennsylvania.
While the country has been heading in that direction for years, this week's dramatic shift came as data showed a sharp drop in imports & a jump in exports to a record high.
Given the volatility in weekly data, the US will likely remain a small net importer most of the time.
Oil prices fell recently, hit by rising supplies in the United States & expectations that producer group OPEC could relax voluntary output cuts.
Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 35 cents at $75.53 a barrel by 0730 GMT.
US light crude was 40 cents lower at $65.96.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries & some non-OPEC producers, including Russia, started withholding output in 2017 to reduce a global supply overhang & prices have risen by around 60 per cent over the last year. Source Link
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