Oil prices drop on U.S. crude build, rising Covid cases in India
Oil prices on Wednesday fell for a second day to their lowest in a week on a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories and concerns surging COVID-19 cases in India will drive down fuel demand in the world’s third-biggest oil importer.
Brent futures fell $1.30, or 2.0%, to $65.27 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June settled 2.11%, or $1.32, lower at $61.35 per barrel.
That puts both benchmarks on track for their lowest closes since April 13.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles unexpectedly edged higher last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, confirming data by the American Petroleum Institute the day before.
Crude inventories rose by 594,000 barrels in the week to April 16 to 493 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3 million-barrel drop.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, are heading for a largely technical meeting next week where major changes to policy are unlikely, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and OPEC+ sources said.
Novak said on Wednesday the group may confirm or tweak output plans following its decision to ease production curbs.
Reference: CNBC
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