(Bloomberg) -- U.S. oil explorers curtailed activity for the first time since January as escalating output from shale fields stunted a recovery in crude prices.
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Explorers idled four working oil rigs this week, bringing the total to 796, according to Baker Hughes data released Friday. The benchmark for U.S. crude has fallen about 9 percent since touching a three-year high in late January as ballooning American oil production cast doubt on the OPEC-led effort to shrink a global glut.
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Oil output in the U.S. rose by 86,000 barrels a day last week to a record 10.4 million, according to the Energy Information Administration.
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