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1st LD Writethru: Oil prices plunge on supply worries

Xinhua, March 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Crude prices plummeted Friday as worries of global supply glut continued to weigh on the market.

Global supply rose by 1.3 million barrels per day (mb/d) year- on-year to an estimated 94 mb/d in February, led by a 1.4 mb/d gain in non-OPEC output, according to the Oil Market Report released by International Energy Agency (IEA) Friday.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude output edged down by 90,000 barrels per day in February to 30.22 mb/d, as losses in Libya and Iraq offset higher supply from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Angola.

Meanwhile, declines in the U.S. rig count have yet to dent North American output growth. Final December and preliminary current-quarter data show higher-than-expected US crude supply.

U.S. crude production reached 9.366 million barrels a day last week, the highest level since 1983,according to Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Energy Department's statistical arm.

In the week ended March 6, U.S. crude stockpiles increased 4.5 million barrels to 448.9 million, 78.9 million barrels more than a year earlier.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery lost 2.21 U.S. dollars to settle at 44.84 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery moved down 2.41 dollars to close at 54.67 dollars a barrel. Endite