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The two crude global benchmarks rose between 20
and 25 percent in April, helped by a weaker dollar and bets that
a supply glut would ease, following the June-to-January sell-off
that halved prices from above $100 a barrel.
But signs of an increasing supply glut are growing.
Iraq's oil exports rose in April to a record 3.08 million
barrels per day (bpd) from 2.98 mln bpd in the previous month,
the oil ministry said on Friday.
The figure highlights a growing surplus in production from OPEC
members, whose supply in April rose to its highest in more than
two years to 31.04 million bpd, according to a Reuters survey.
Brent <LCOc1> was down 48 cents at $66.30 a barrel by 1117 GMT
(7.17 a.m. EDT). It rose to a 2015 peak of $66.93 on Thursday
and increased 21 percent in April.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was down 8 cents at $59.55, after hitting a
2015 high of $59.85 in post-settlement trading on Thursday. It
gained 25 percent last month.
Trading on Friday was thin with some major markets closed for
the May Day holiday.
"What is driving prices these days is less physical markets
which remain very weak but more expectations of future
tightening," said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy
Aspects.
Despite a sharp drop in new U.S. shale drilling in recent
months, there have been few signs that a global supply glut is
easing, and there are some signs that U.S. oil production may
not fall significantly in the near future.
Futures and options trades suggest U.S shale producers are
locking in production costs for next year, which could pave the
way for a rebound in production.
"If markets don't tighten as quickly as people are expecting,
the sell-off can be large," Sen said.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Joseph
Radford and David Evans)
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