US crude has spent the better part of the past six months above the $50 per barrel mark, but this has supported hedging by US shale producers that will likely prevent prices rising too much further in the foreseeable future. US oil production was already rising, even before Opec and non-Opec producers agreed to cut their output late last year, pushing prices back above the half-century mark. Since then, US tight oil producers' use of hedging tools to lock in higher prices and insure themselves against another dip in prices has helped to keep their output marching inexorably higher.
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