The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday that it expects a smaller decline in U.S. crude oil production in 2016 than it forecast a month ago as an uptick in drilling will lead to more output later this year. The agency said 2016 crude production will fall by 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.73 million bpd, according to the EIA’s short term energy outlook. Previously, it forecast a drop of 820,000 bpd to 8.61 million bpd. The decline in crude output comes amid a two-year rout in global oil markets on the back of lackluster demand and oversupply, effectively slashing benchmark prices by as much as 70 percent. “After a steep drop over the past year in U.S. oil production, a recent uptick in the number of rigs drilling for oil is expected to contribute to more steady monthly oil output […]