Decline in U.S. crude oil production likely to continue

Oil prices continue to remain volatile as Brent and WTI were down by more than 3% before oil prices increased in the afternoon session. Brent rose by $2 from its daily low and trades around $34.2 per barrel, while WTI advanced from its daily low by $1.5 per barrel. The oil prices recovered following reports by the U.S. Department of Energy on U.S. inventory data.

The renewed drop in the U.S. crude oil production by 33,000 barrels per day suggests that the production has declined by 84,000 barrels per day within a span of two weeks, a level last seen in October 2015.

"We believe that this is only the start, and expect this trend to continue in the coming weeks and months" Commerzbank said in a research note.