Oil prices sank on Wednesday amid growing concerns over a potential oversupply of crude.
The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery settled 1.64 dollars lower at 56.74 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery dropped 1.38 dollars to close at 63.21 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said he expects the market to be oversupplied by as much as 1 million barrels per day in the first half of this year, according to reports by the Reuters.
The comments and the successes of the U.S. shale oil industry, which are also the main reason for the current oversupply on the oil market, weighed on the market, experts noted.
In a monthly report published Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts further efficiency gains in shale oil drilling.
Traders also kept a close eye on disruptions to Libya's crude output.
Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Saturday declared a state of force majeure in oil ports, accusing the east-based army of closing the ports.
The closure of the ports causes loss of daily crude oil production of 800,000 barrels, or a daily equivalent of 55 million dollars, the NOC said in a statement.
Editor:Cherie
