Traders said the price falls on Monday and Friday were a result of increasing oil drilling activity in the United States, which indicated that producers can operate profitably around current levels. "From that perspective, we’re getting a bit of a sell-off in oil," CMC Markets strategist Jasper Lawler said. ''Given the good run that oil has had, that was maybe the easy trade to take when the dollar was rallying," he added.
Expectations of another flood of refined product exports from China later this year added another negative note, as demand in Asia's biggest economy and oil consumer stutters. Traders said they were still eyeing statements regarding a potential freezing of oil output closely, although a broad agreement to meaningfully rein in oversupply was not currently expected.
