SINGAPORE/TOKYO: Oil prices fell on Thursday after official data showed US crude and gasoline stockpiles rose sharply, although signs that OPEC and other producers are holding the line on output cuts helped support prices.
Brent crude futures fell 20 cents, or 0.35 per cent, to $56.60 a barrel as of 0750 GMT after settling up $1.22 in the previous session. Front month futures for West Texas Intermediate were down 26 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $53.62 after climbing $1.07 at the day before.
US crude stocks grew last week by an unexpected 6.5 million barrels to 494.76 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, as refiners let stocks build further in a seasonally slow season for production.
The build in stocks far exceeded analysts’ expectations for an increase of 3.3 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks climbed by 3.9 million barrels, compared with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1-million barrel gain. Gasoline demand has been seasonally weak, down 5.7 per cent from a year ago over the past four weeks.
But prices were underpinned by indications that producers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and others are curbing output and geopolitical tensions between the United States and Tehran after Iran’s latest missile test. — Reuters
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