Oil drops

Singapore :Oil prices dropped more than 1 percent on Friday as a bounce-back in U.S. production outweighed ongoing declines in crude inventories.

If Friday´s falls last, this week will see the biggest weekly price declines since October.

Brent crude futures were at $68.46 at 0259 GMT, down 85 cents, or 1.2 percent, from their last close. On Monday, they hit their highest since December, 2014 at $70.37 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.02 a barrel, down 93 cents, or 1.5 percent, from their last settlement.

WTI marked a December-2014 peak of $64.89 a barrel on Tuesday. Traders said the lower prices were prompted by a recovery in U.S. oil production after a recent drop, as well as by an expected fall in demand when winter ends in the northern hemisphere.