Oil prices fall as US platforms and economic slowdown increase

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday after US energy companies added rigs for the first time this year, a sign that crude oil production will continue to rise.

CLc1 US crude oil futures were $ 53.37 per barrel at 00:27 GMT, down 32 cents or 0.6% from their latest settlement.

Brent international LCoC1 crude futures were at $ 61.37 per barrel, down 27 cents or 0.4%.

According to badysts, the high output of US crude oil, which hit a record 11.9 million barrels a day late last year, was weighing on the oil markets. [C-OUT-T-EIA]

Signed that production could still increase, US energy companies have increased the number of platforms in search of new oil for the first time in 2019, adding 10 facilities to 862, announced Friday the company Baker Hughes Energy Services.

Beyond the supply of oil, growth in demand will be a key issue for this year.

Oil consumption is rising steadily and is expected to average more than 100 million barrels a day for the first time in 2019, mainly due to China's boom.

However, the economic slowdown caused by a trade dispute between Washington and Beijing is also weighing on fuel demand growth forecasts.

China, which has recorded the slowest pace of economic growth since 1990 last year, is trying to curb the slowdown with aggressive fiscal stimulus.

But there are fears that these measures may not have the desired total effect, as the Chinese economy is already heavily indebted and some of the largest spending measures by the government appear to be of little value.

High supply and economic slowdown weigh on the outlook for oil prices.

"We expect US crude oil prices to fluctuate between $ 50 and $ 60 per barrel in 2019 and about $ 10 per barrel for Brent," Tortoise Capital Advisors said in its outlook for the oil market in 2019.

Tortoise, however, added that oil prices would be supported above $ 50 a barrel because it was "very clear that Saudi Arabia will no longer be willing to accept this drop in oil prices."

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), de facto directed by Saudi Arabia, began to reduce supplies by the end of last year to tighten markets and support prices.