Latin America takes a hit

The region’s oil output continues to fall and recovery won’t be swift

Traders seeking signs of a market recovery have spent the past 18 months scouring US data, focused on shale. They should spend time looking further south as well. Outside the US, Latin America's oil production has been the hardest hit of any region. Petroleum Economist analysis shows crude output from the region's major producers has dropped in the last year and a half by about 0.7m barrels a day, or almost 7%. In June, it amounted to just 9.09m b/d. It is a marked turnaround for a region that just a couple of years ago was expected to suck in investment and be a major contributor to global oil output growth. The national oil companies that dominate Latin American production are largely to b