Oil prices continued to slide Tuesday as global supply remains high, sending West Texas Intermediate to a new six-year low and and pushing Brent back down from recent gains.
WTI for April delivery was trading at $43.38 early Tuesday, down 55 cents from the previous close, its lowest level since March 2009.
While U.S. oil inventories remain near record highs, a Drilling Productivity Report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates rapidly falling rig counts will curb production in the the Eagle Ford, Niobrara, and Bakken regions in April. The Permian shale basin, meanwhile, continues to see production gains.
A November decision from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep production static despite sliding oil prices was seen as an effort to sideline shale, where production is at times more expensive than in conventional oil reserves.
The price for Brent crude, the global benchmark, slid to $52.92 for May delivery early Tuesday, off $1.02 from Monday's close.
