NYMEX, Brent pointed weaker in Asia as OPEC, Fed rate path weigh

Investing.com - Investing.com - Crude prices pointed weaker in Asia on Thursday as OPEC continues to pump crude at higher than expected levels and investors mulled the pace as the Fed moved to hike rates as expected for the first time in a year.
Rising production globally puts a sharper focus on figures due Friday on rig count data from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. Last week, data showed the U.S. rig count up 27 rigs from last week to 624, with oil rigs up 21 to 498, gas rigs up 6 to 125, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1, but down 85 rigs from the same period last year when the count was 709, with oil rigs down 26, gas rigs down 60, and miscellaneous rigs up 1.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil for January delivery fell 4.06% to $50.83 a barrel on the renewed glut concerns while, global benchmark Brent dropped 3.50% to $53.77 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Overnight, OPEC reported its members pumped 33.87 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, OPEC said citing its data figures released monthly, a jump of 150,000 bpd from October.
The continued gains in production come ahead of the January start of a complex production curb deal with OPEC pledging to trim 1.2 million bpd to be joined by another 560,000 bpd by non-OPEC members.
Earlier on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy reported a 2.563 million barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories, more than the 1.584 million barrel decline seen, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 762,000 barrels, and gasoline supplies gained 497,000 barrels.
The crude drop compares to an American Petroleum Institute survey said late Tuesday that U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose by 4.7 million barrels last week.