(Bloomberg) -- U.S. oil explorers curtailed activity for the first time since January as escalating output from shale fields stunted a recovery in crude prices.
Explorers idled four working oil rigs this week, bringing the total to 796, according to Baker Hughes data released Friday. The benchmark for U.S. crude has fallen about 9 percent since touching a three-year high in late January as ballooning American oil production cast doubt on the OPEC-led effort to shrink a global glut.
Oil output in the U.S. rose by 86,000 barrels a day last week to a record 10.4 million, according to the Energy Information Administration.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bailey Schulz in New York at bschulz17@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net, Joe Carroll, Christine Buurma
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