ECUADOR RISE 15%

Ecuador's crude oil export revenue totaled $1.26 billion in March, up about 15% from February, due to higher production, the central bank said Tuesday.

The country produced 17.2 million barrels of crude oil in March, a 12% increase from one month earlier, and exported 13.1 million barrels, up 18% from February.

The average price of crude oil in March decreased 1.5% to $96.5 a barrel from the previous month.

Crude oil is Ecuador's main export, which the Andean country sends primarily to Asia, the U.S. and the Caribbean.

All of the oil was exported by Ecuador's state-owned companies.

Petroecuador, Petroamazonas and Rio Napo, the three state-run oil companies, produced 13.42 million barrels of crude oil in March, while private companies produced the remainder.

According to the central bank data, the increase in oil production was mainly driven by government investment and new production technologies.

wsj.com