Oil prices declined on Monday, adding to heavy losses at the end of last week on the back of high drilling activity in the United States and ample supplies from OPEC and non-OPEC nations.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $46.21 per barrel, down 50 cents, or around 1%, from their last close, CNBC reported. Prices dropped even as OPEC signaled it may widen its production caps to include Nigeria and Libya, whose output has recovered in recent months after being curtailed by years of unrest. US crude futures were at $43.78 per barrel, down 45 cents. "The market is in trouble and looks very vulnerable to lower numbers," PVM brokerage said in a note. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed with some non-OPEC members to curtail production until March 2018 but the move has failed to eliminate a global glut of crude. Several key OPEC ministers will meet non-OPEC Russia on July 24 in St. Petersburg, Russia, to discuss the current situation in oil markets.