2018.01.0302:58:00UTC+00Oil Prices Near Mid-2015 Peaks

Oil prices were steady on Wednesday, closer to mid-2015 highs hit the previous session, as solid demand and ongoing efforts led by OPEC and Russia to reduce production tightened the market.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures stood at $60.40 a barrel, higher by 3 cents from their last close, and near the $60.74 June 2015 peak notched the previous day.

Brent crude futures - the international benchmark for oil prices - were at $66.55 a barrel, lower by 2 cents but still not far off the $67.29 May 2015 high from the previous day.

There were indicators that markets had overshot in the last days of 2017 and trading this year. U.S. production is expected to increase further and doubts are emerging about whether demand growth can continue at current levels.

U.S. oil production has grown by nearly 16 percent since mid-2016, reaching 9.75 million bpd at the end of last year.

There was concern that output by Russia, the world's largest oil producer and one of the key drivers together with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in reducing supplies, was in fact not falling.

For the whole of 2017, however, Russian output grew to an average output of 10.98 million bpd, compared with 10.96 million bpd in 2016 and 10.72 million bpd in 2015.