U.S. Oil Production Reaches Record High in September, Easing Market Surplus Fears
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that oil production in the United States hit a record high in September, a development that alleviates concerns regarding potential market surpluses and reinforces expectations for ongoing global market stability.
Official figures released on Friday indicated that "U.S. crude oil production increased by 44,000 barrels per day in September, reaching a historic level of 13.84 million barrels per day." New Mexico, the second-largest oil-producing state, also achieved a record output of "2.351 million barrels per day," while production in the federal offshore Gulf region rose to "1.983 million barrels per day, the highest since February 2020."
In contrast, global oil markets displayed mixed results on Friday, with international crude futures declining while U.S. futures experienced an uptick. This divergence occurred amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly related to peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, along with market anticipation for the upcoming "OPEC+" meeting scheduled for Sunday.
Brent crude futures for January 2026, which were set to expire on Friday, fell by 7 cents, or 0.11%, settling at $63.41 per barrel. Conversely, "West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 91 cents, or 1.955%, to $59.56 per barrel, following the resumption of trading after a temporary halt due to a system outage at the CME Group, caused by cooling issues at CyrusOne data centers."
Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude prices have now declined for four consecutive months, marking the longest losing streak since 2023, as rising global supply continues to exert downward pressure on prices, despite some weekly gains exceeding 1%.
