U.S. oil rigs hit their highest level since April 2015 while crude futures suffered their biggest weekly drop since January 2016 amid renewed oversupply concerns.

Supply worries were ignited anew after the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that domestic production hit 10.25 million barrels per day last week, a record high.

Also, OPEC member Iran said Thursday that it plans to boost production by 700,000 bpd within the next four years, despite OPEC's current output agreement to remove 1.8 million bpd from the market.

U.S. crude tumbled 3.2% to close at $59.20 a barrel Friday, crashing through the psychologically important $60 mark. For the week, U.S. crude fell 9.5%. Brent crude sank 3.1% to $62.79 a barrel, off 8.4% for the week.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) fell 0.35% to 75.80 on the stock market today. Chevron (CVX) rose 1.1%. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, both members of the Dow Jones industrial average, reported weaker-than-expected earnings on Feb. 2. BP (BP) tumbled sank 1.1%. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) fell 0.4%.

Washington is looking to unload even more crude on the market. Under the budget deal President Trump signed into law early Friday, 100 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be sold by 2027. Along with previously scheduled sales, the reserve would fall to roughly 303 million barrels, according to Bloomberg.

https://www.investors.com/news/u-s-oil-reserves-to-fall-by-45-on-bu...