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1st LD Writethru: Oil prices retreat on profit taking

Xinhua, May 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Oil prices fell on Friday as investors took profit following the two-day sharp rise.

Oil prices pulled back from 2015 highs which were buoyed by lower crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U.S. contract dropped. Inventories at the storage hub lost 510,000 barrels to 61.68 million barrels last week, according to Energy Information Administration.

Investors started to cash in gains on the two-day rally on Friday. Meanwhile, news of an increasing output from Middle East also dealt a blow to crude prices.

Iraq's crude exports hit a record high in April, according to a spokesman from the Oil Ministry.

Meanwhile, U.S. rig count continued to drop last week. Analysts believed that low crude prices forced U.S. shale oil producers to slow down the output.

The number of U.S. rigs actively drilling for oil and natural gas of the week ended May 1, fell 27 rigs to 905, reported oil service company Baker Hughes Friday.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery lost 48 cents to settle at 59.15 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery moved down 32 cents to close at 66.46 dollars a barrel. Endite