Oil prices fall on US data

Oil prices continued to fall on Thursday after data showed a surprise jump in US crude exports to a record high, fueling worries about global supply.

The US Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories in the United States recorded a sharp decline of six million barrels last week, but crude exports jumped to 1.98 million barrels per day.

US exports are becoming more attractive to buyers, as US benchmark crude contracts, WTI, are being heavily traded on Brent crude.

US crude fell 4 cents to $ 49.94 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 3 cents to $ 55.77 a barrel.

Traders are concerned that a large increase in US exports, as oil production continues to grow, will undermine OPEC-led efforts to reduce supply in the markets.

Increasing oil production in the United States, which is not a party to a global output reduction agreement, is constraining price gains. US oil production stood at 9.56 million bpd at the end of September, the highest level since July 2015.