US CRUDE OUTPUT HITS RECORD AS STOCKS DROP

US crude oil production climbed to a fresh record of 13.979 million barrels a day in the week ended October 2, according to EIA data. Commercial crude stocks fell 3.2 million barrels the same week, down to 424.1 million, as exports absorbed the extra supply. $USO tracks a benchmark that keeps pumping more barrels even as stockpiles shrink.