Oil drops below $70 as U.S. urges OPEC+ to pump more | Reuters

Oil drops below $70 as U.S. urges OPEC+ to pump more | Reuters

Oil fell below $70 a barrel on Wednesday as the United States urged OPEC and its oil-producing partners to boost output, saying current production was not enough and could threaten the global economic recovery.

The price of Brent crude is up 35% this year supported by OPEC-led supply curbs, even after oil last week suffered the steepest weekly loss in months on worries that travel restrictions to curb coronavirus infections would hit demand.

Brent crude was down 75 cents, or 1.1%, to $69.88 a barrel at 1126 GMT, following a 2.3% rally on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 81 cents, or 1.2%, to $67.48, after a 2.7% jump on Tuesday.

The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that the Biden administration had urged OPEC and its partners to boost production. [nW1N2OE031] CNBC earlier reported the development.