Steady improvements in the North American energy sector and a forecast about a geopolitical risk premium sent crude oil prices lower early Monday. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-member states like Russia agreed last week to extend a production cut agreement credited with supporting crude oil prices to the end of 2018. The measure is aimed at draining the surplus from the five-year average in global crude oil inventories, and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said the work is only halfway done. High U.S. oil production and a previous OPEC policy of defending a market position with robust output sent oil prices plummeting below $30 per barrel last […]