NEW YORK — As OPEC nations make their biggest oil production cuts on record, Brazil, Russia and the U.S. are pumping more, threatening to send crude back below $50 a barrel.
U.S. imports from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries fell 818,000 barrels a day, or 14 percent, to 5.02 million in January from a year earlier, according to the latest monthly report from the Energy Department. At the same time, imports from Brazil more than doubled to 397,000 and Russia’s increased almost 10-fold to 157,000, a trend that continued in February and March, according to data from each country.
While the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 32 analysts shows crude in New York averaging $61 a barrel in the fourth quarter, up from the second quarter’s estimate of $50, traders are increasing bets on a decline. The fastest-growing options contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange is for prices to fall below $40 a barrel by May 14.
