1st LD Writethru: Oil prices retreat amid supply glut worries

Oil prices lost Monday as worries persisted that global supply would continue to surpass demand in the near future.

For the week ended May 1, U.S. crude production retreated 4,000 barrels to 9.369 million barrels a day, still at historic high level, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

U.S. crude supplies decreased to 487 million barrels a day, still 89.5 million barrels more than a year earlier. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U.S. contract, were 61.67 million barrels.

Meanwhile, oil output from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which supply a third of world crude oil, was little changed in April, only dropping 1,000 barrels to 31.295 million barrels a day, according to a survey.

Oil prices also retreated on a stronger U.S. dollar Monday as an appreciated greenback makes the dollar-priced crude more expensive and less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery lost 14 cents to settle at 59.25 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent North Sea crude for June delivery, the global benchmark, moved down 48 cents to close at 64.91 dollars a barrel. Endite