Investing.com - Oil prices sank to a three-month low on Monday, extending two straight sessions of losses amid growing concerns over a global supply glut.
Crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 61 cents, or 1.41%, to $42.80 a barrel by 7:10AM ET (12:10GMT), after falling to a session low of $42.68 earlier, a level not seen since August 11.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for January delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London shed 45 cents, or 1.01%, to $44.30 a barrel after falling as low as $44.14 earlier, the weakest since August 11.
Concerns over a global supply glut intensified after OPEC said that its oil production rose by 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) to an all-time high of 33.64 million in October, with Nigeria, Libya and Iraq blamed for the increase.
The figures added to skepticism over the implementation of a planned deal by OPEC to limit production.
The oil group reached an agreement to cap output to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day in talks held in Algeria in late September. However, OPEC said it won’t finalize details on individual output quotas until its next official meeting in Vienna on November 30.
The possibility that producers could walk away empty-handed from the November meeting looms large after Iraq, Iran, Nigeria and Libya all signaled they might not take part in the proposed production cut deal. Russia’s unclear stance is also fueling uncertainty.
Meanwhile, evidence of rising crude production in the U.S. further weighed on prices. According to oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by 2 to 452 last week, the 21st increase out of the last 24 weeks.
A broadly stronger U.S. dollar was also blamed for losses as dollar-priced commodities become more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback gains.