Investing.com - Crude prices moved lower on Monday as traders opted to take profit after the latest data related to escalating U.S. oil production.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude May contract fell 30 cents, or 0.46%, to $65.58 a barrel by 10:38AM ET (14:38GMT) Monday.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for June delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London traded down 26 cents, or 0.37%, to $69.55 a barrel.
Late Friday, Baker Hughes said that the number of oil drilling rigs in the U.S. rose by four to 804, its highest level since March 2015.
Market participants have voiced concern that booming U.S. shale oil production could potentially derail OPEC's effort to end a supply glut.
U.S. oil production, driven by shale extraction, rose to an all-time high of 10.40 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, staying above Saudi Arabia's output levels and within reach of Russia, the world's biggest crude producer.
Despite Monday’s dip, the U.S. benchmark and the London barrel were both on track for monthly gains of 6% and 5%, respectively. Oil prices have been supported by talk of a possible extension to the OPEC-led production cut agreement beyond the current deadline at the end of 2018 along with recent geopolitical tensions.
Saudi air defenses reportedly shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia on Sunday, some of which targeted Saudi capital Riyadh.
As recently as last week, U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint John Bolton as National Security Advisor caused further concern over the U.S. relationship with Iran. Bolton was known for his opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement struck by the Obama administration. Experts have speculated that Trump is moving the pieces to implement additional sanctions on Tehran which could directly affection Iran’s oil output.
In other energy trading, gasoline futures for May delivery lost 0.78% at $2.0255 a gallon by 10:41AM ET (14:41GMT), while the May heating oil contract traded down 0.15% to $2.0179 a gallon.
Natural gas futures for May delivery traded up 1.03% to $2.660 per million British thermal units.