WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell notably on Monday to extend losses from Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump told producer club OPEC to lower oil prices and also said he had spoken with Saudi Arabia about reducing the impact of lower Iranian oil exports by increasing flows elsewhere.
Benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.75 percent to $71.09 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.6 percent at $62.94 per barrel.
'Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you've got to bring them down,' Trump told reporters on Friday.
Trump also indicated that he had spoken with Saudi Arabia about reducing the impact of lower Iranian oil exports by increasing flows elsewhere.
The statement triggered a selloff, putting a temporary ceiling on a 40 percent price rally in oil prices since the start of the year.
Market participants expect Saudi Arabia to increase output as soon as May to offset the lost Iranian crude oil.
'The Kingdom could increase output by 500 million barrels per day (bpd) and still be in compliance with the OPEC+ deal for the month of May,' ING bank said in a report.
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