OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $74 AGAIN

REUTERS - Oil prices were stable on Wednesday, but were below the more than three-year highs reached the previous session as rising U.S. fuel inventories and production weighed on an otherwise bullish market.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.89 per barrel at 0455 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close but around $1.60 below the November-2014 high of $75.47 a barrel reached the previous day.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were flat at $67.7 63 per barrel, but off the late-2014 highs of $69.56 a barrel marked earlier in April.

Despite Wednesday's dips, which traders said were also a result of profit-taking after Tuesday's highs, many analysts say the period of oversupply that started in 2014 has now ended due to supply disruptions and also strong demand.

That has been driven by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which were introduced in 2017 with the aim of propping up the market, but also because of political risk to supplies in the Middle East, Venezuela and Africa.

Because of the tighter market, the forward curve for Brent is now above $70 per barrel until the end of 2018, and prices are above $60 per barrel through 2020.

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Earlier: 

2018, April, 23, 14:55:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $74 YET REUTERS - Brent crude futures were down 49 cents at $73.57 a barrel by 0911 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 51 cents to $67.89 a barrel.

2018, April, 23, 14:50:00 РОССИЯ - ОПЕК: 149% МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - страны ОПЕК и государства, не входящие в ОПЕК, выполнили соглашение по добровольной корректировке объемов добычи нефти на 149%, что является самым высоким показателем в истории соглашения.

2018, April, 23, 14:45:00 РОССИЯ И САУДОВСКАЯ АРАВИЯ - ПАРТНЕРЫ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Активная позиция позволила обеспечить консенсус ведущих стран-производителей нефти по вопросу реализации «венских соглашений» о добровольной корректировке добычи нефти. Рынок видит успехи наших усилий по сокращению объемов запасов и реагирует позитивным образом", - отметил Александр Новак.

2018, April, 20, 09:30:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $74 REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.79 per barrel at 0440 GMT, up 1 cent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 down 2 cents at $68.40 a barrel.

2018, April, 20, 09:20:00 OIL STOCKS & PRICES UP FT - Oil prices hit their highest level since 2014 on Thursday, moving above $74 a barrel and lifting energy companies to the top of global stock indices.

2018, April, 18, 13:14:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $72 AGAIN REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $72.07 per barrel at 0659 GMT, up 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $67.01 a barrel.

2018, April, 18, 13:12:00 RUSSIA - OPEC DIMENSION PLATTS - Russia is committed to its OPEC pact with Saudi Arabia and will continue supplying Europe energy despite tensions with the West after US-led strikes on Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, said Vladimir Putin's spokesman.