Oil Slides as Growing Shale Supply Seen Stabilizing U.S. Hub
- Supply from U.S. shale basins seen rising 131,000 b/d in April
- WTI front spread near contango as Cushing stocks seen steadier
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Oil fell on speculation that growing shale production will stem the drawdown of inventories from the biggest U.S. hub.
West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 1.1 percent after a government report showed further expansion in shale output. Output from major U.S. shale regions is forecast to rise 131,000 barrels a day in April, government data show. Stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for futures contracts, were little changed after 11 straight weeks of declines, according to a Bloomberg forecast. The spread between April and May futures narrowed to 3 cents.