WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices fell Monday amid the release of the government's monthly oil production report.
Crude-oil production from the shale sector is expected to rise by 125,000 barrels a day in May to 6.996 million barrels a day, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. That's due in large part to the continued U.S. shale boom in the Permian basin.
June WTI oil settled at $66.22/bbl on Nymex, down $1.17, or 1.7%. Prices tumbled from a 3-year peak reached last week.
In economic news, retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than anticipated, up 0.6 percent in March after edging down by 0.1 percent in February. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent.
A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday showed a notably slower pace of growth in New York manufacturing activity in the month of April.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to 15.8 in April from 22.5 in March, although a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to drop to 18.6.
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