TOKYO: Oil prices fell for a second day on Thursday after official data showed US crude and gasoline stocks rose against expectations as production hit a record. Brent crude futures were down 22 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $63.84 a barrel by 0735 GMT, having dropped 0.3 per cent on Wednesday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $57.78, after falling 0.5 per cent in the previous session.
Crude stockpiles in the United States swelled 1.6 million barrels last week as production rose to a record of 12.9 million barrels per day (bpd) and refinery runs slowed, the Energy Information Administration said. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a drop of 418,000 barrels.
The United States is currently the largest consumer and producer of oil in the world.
More bearish was a 5.1 million-barrel rise in gasoline stocks, compared with forecasts for a 1.2 million-barrel gain.
“Stubbornly high US crude inventories have seen oil prices ease in Asia today,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. But “dips... are likely to be limited for now, as the US holiday mutes activity,” he added, referring to the US Thanksgiving holiday.
Oil prices had risen this week on expectations that China and the United States, the world’s two biggest crude users, would soon sign a preliminary agreement, putting an end to their 16-month trade dispute.
Investors have also been focusing on next week’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and allies including Russia, which have been withholding production to support prices. — Reuters
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