Oil prices retreated on Thursday, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that crude output in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) soared last month.
The IEA said in its monthly report Thursday that OPEC oil production climbed in August by 420,000 barrels a day, to average 32.63 million barrels a day.
That was the cartel's biggest month-on-month increase in more than two years, bringing the supply from the group's 15 producers to a nine-month high, said the report.
Analysts said the jump in OPEC crude production far outweighed losses from Iran ahead of U.S. sanctions, indicating that Saudi Arabia and its production allies are moving rapidly to fill global supply outages and keep the market in balance.
The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery dropped 1.78 U.S. dollars to settle at 68.59 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery lost 1.56 dollars to 78.18 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Editor:Cherie
