Investing.com - Oil prices struggled near the lowest level since the end of November on Monday, as concern over rising shale production and record-high U.S. crude inventories offset optimism that OPEC and its allies have been following through on their commitment to cut production.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude April contract inched down 7 cents, or around 0.2%, to $48.42 a barrel by 9:20AM ET (13:20GMT). It fell to an overnight low of $47.90, a level not seen since November 30.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for May delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London dipped 2 cents to $51.35 a barrel. The global benchmark touched a session low of $50.85 earlier, its cheapest since November 30.
Concerns that the ongoing rebound in U.S. shale production could derail efforts by other major producers to rebalance global oil supply and demand pressured crude prices.
Data from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes on Friday revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 8 last week, the eighth weekly increase in a row. That brought the total count to 617, the most since October 2015.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that crude supplies rose by 8.2 million barrels last week to yet another all-time high of 528.4 million. It was the ninth straight weekly build in U.S. stockpiles, feeding concerns about a global glut.
Sentiment in oil markets in recent months has been torn between rising stockpiles and increased shale production in the U.S. and hopes that oversupply may be curbed by output cuts announced by major global producers.
OPEC and non-OPEC countries made a strong start to lowering their oil output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day by the end of June, but so far the move has had little impact on inventory levels.
Kuwait is scheduled to host a ministerial meeting on March 26 comprising both OPEC and non-OPEC members to review compliance with the output agreement and to discuss whether cuts would be extended beyond June.
Investors will keep an eye out for monthly reports from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties and the International Energy Agency due on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively to gauge global supply and demand levels.
Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for April shed 0.6 cents, or around 0.4%, to $1.584 a gallon, while April heating oil added 0.2 cents to $1.506 a gallon.
Natural gas futures for April delivery rallied 4.5 cents to $3.053 per million British thermal units, as forecasters put the U.S. East Coast on a blizzard watch starting as early as Monday night.