Investing.com -- Crude futures fell back slightly from fresh yearly-highs after a survey from Reuters on Friday showed that OPEC production in April reached near-record highs, reiterating concerns related to the massive supply glut on global energy markets.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for June delivery traded in a broad range between $45.24 and $46.77 a barrel, before settling at $45.91, down 0.12 or 0.26% on the session. The front month contract for U.S. crude futures ended April up by more than 17%, extending its considerably rally from multi-year lows in mid-February. Since plunging to 13-year lows on Feb. 11, WTI crude has surged approximately 65%.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for July delivery wavered between $46.77 and $48.28 a barrel, before closing at $47.34, down 0.43 or 0.90% on the session. While the rebound in North Brent Sea futures has not been as pronounced as its U.S. counterpart, brent futures are still up by roughly 50% since crashing below $30 in mid-February. Both the international and U.S. benchmarks of crude rose sharply on the month, despite the collapse of talks at a Doha summit on April 17 aimed at achieving a comprehensive production freeze among OPEC and Non-OPEC producers.
On Friday, a Reuters survey found that OPEC increased production by 170,000 barrels per day from 32.47 million to 32.64 million bpd, according to shipping data and oil company sources. The total nearly matched January's level of 32.65 million, following the return of Indonesia to the 13-member oil cartel. In April, significant gains from Iran and Iraq more than offset a lack of production in Kuwait which was restrained by a three-day worker strike last week.
Currently, Iranian output hovers around 3.40 million bpd approaching levels from 2011 before a host of Western Powers levied widespread economic sanctions against the Persian Gulf state. Since the sanctions were eased near the start of the year, Iran has reportedly ramped up production by more than 1 million bpd with a goal of reaching 4 million by June. Iran has been hesitant to take part in a coordinated production freeze with main rival Saudi Arabia and others until its production returns to pre-sanction levels. Saudi output, meanwhile, fell slightly by 30,000 bpd to 10.15 million bpd, according to the Reuters survey. In Iraq, supply growth continued to accelerate as exports from its southern Basra region approach record-highs.
Elsewhere, investors shrugged off a bullish report from Baker Hughes on Friday afternoon after the oil services firm reported that U.S. oil rigs last week dropped by 11 to 332 last week to hit a fresh six-year low. The rig count has moved lower in each of the last six weeks. Major reductions among U.S. oil rigs typically provide lagging indication that domestic production is about to level off.
Further losses were cushioned by a weak dollar, which fell sharply following the release of soft U.S. consumer spending data. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell more than 0.60% to an intraday low of 92.98, its lowest level since last July.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.