SINGAPORE/LONDON: Oil prices fell on Thursday after industry data showed a larger-than-expected build-up in the US inventories, but losses were limited after China said it hoped to reach a phased trade agreement with the United States as early as possible.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 was down by 39 cents at $59.03 a barrel by 08:37 GMT. US WTI crude oil CLc1 was down 43 cents at $52.93.
US crude inventories soared by 10.5 million barrels to 432.5 million barrels in the week to October 11, the American Petroleum Institute’s weekly report showed ahead of official government stocks data due on Thursday.
Analysts had estimated US crude inventories rose by around 2.8 million barrels last week.
“An enormous US inventory build hits at precisely the wrong moment when the markets are overly focused on demand devastation due to the latest run of weaker global economic data,” Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a note on Thursday.
If confirmed by the government data, the build-up would be the biggest US inventory increase since February, 2017, Innes said.
It comes amid concerns about the global economy - and therefore oil demand - as data from the United States showed retail sales fell for the first time in seven months in September. That followed earlier data showing a moderation in job growth and services sector activity.
Optimism over an imminent deal on Brexit also provided some support, but investors remained tense after Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party said it could not support the proposed agreement. — Reuters
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