Oil prices eased back from session highs on Thursday after the International Energy Agency increased its forecast for U.S. oil output growth in 2018, raising the prospect of excess supply. The IEA raised its U.S. crude output growth forecast for 2018, saying it would climb by 870,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with its November forecast of 790,000 bpd. With cash pouring into the U.S. shale oil industry, the United States is on track to deliver up to 80 percent of the world’s oil production gains through 2025, the IEA estimates. Click Read More below for additional information.

Futures in New York are up 3.7 percent this month, even after a 1 percent drop on Monday, following data that showed an increase in U.S. drilling activity. A potential withdrawal in May by U.S. President Donald Trump from a 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran would reimpose sanctions on the Middle Eastern producer and curb its exports. Meanwhile, OPEC is trimming output even after concluding it has cleared 97 percent of the surplus that has weighed on prices. “Obviously the rig count that came on Friday was quite bearish,” says Torbjorn Kjus, chief oil analyst at DNB Bank ASA. “There’s a lot of profit in the books here for the non-commercials. You shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a $5 flush out and some profit taking.” In the U.S., working oil rigs rose by five last week to 825, the highest level since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. Click Read More below for additional information.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.163; Month Ago: $3.075; Year Ago: $2.201. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.270; Month Ago: $3.217; Year Ago: $2.438.