U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Rose by 6.5M Barrels Last Week: EIA
Investing.com - U.S. crude oil inventories rose more than expected last week, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday.
The EIA data showed that crude oil inventories rose by 6.5 million barrels in the week to October 12.
That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile build of 1.6 million barrels, after a build of almost 6 million barrels in the previous week.
The EIA report also showed that gasoline inventories fell by 2.0 million barrels, compared to expectations for a draw of 1.07 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 0.8 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decrease of 1.3 million.
London-traded Brent crude futures were off 1.84% to $79.91 a barrel by 10:33 AM ET (14:33 GMT) from their last close.
U.S. crude prices were trading down 2.41% to $70.19 a barrel.
Prior to the release, oil prices were headed lower after three straight sessions of gains as the debate continues over the impact of the scandal surrounding the disappearance of Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared two weeks ago after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump initially threatened the kingdom with “severe punishment” if any wrongdoing was found, he later seemed to give Saudi Arabia the benefit of the doubt.
Experts debated potential actions from Saudi Arabia with some suggesting that the country could cut output in order to raise prices as a response to threats, while others argued that the de facto OPEC leader would seek to lower prices as a diplomatic measure.
U.S. crude is still up nearly 18% year-to-date amid concerns over OPEC’s ability to increase production when U.S. sanctions against Iran - the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and the third-largest exporter in OPEC- come into effect on Nov. 4.
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