The prices of crude oil has declined around the world as Brent fell by 32 cents while WTI also fell by 52 cents.
Oil prices fell for a third day on Thursday, dragged down by a larger-than-expected crude and gasoline stock build in the U.S and easing supply concerns.
Brent futures declined by 38 cents, or 0.44%, to $85.44 a barrel at 9:00 a.m. Saudi time, while U.S West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 52 cents, or 0.62%, to $82.97 a barrel.
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Both benchmarks have given back most early-week gains after falling more than 2% in the previous session.
U.S crude oil stockpiles swelled by about 12.9 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.
This was much higher than the 500,000-barrel gain expected by analysts.
“Unlikely to help sentiment this morning are API inventory numbers. Lower refinery run rates due to maintenance likely contributed to this build,” said ING analysts in a client note.
Gasoline inventories also rose by 3.6 million barrels, the data showed, a stark contrast from the 800,000-barrel drop expected by analysts and continued to stoke worries of slowing fuel demand in the U.S
“Fuel prices may be closer to consumers pain threshold than inflation-adjusted prices might suggest.
There are already signs that consumers have responded by cutting back on fuel consumption,” JP Morgan analysts said in a client note.
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Markets will be awaiting further inventory data cues from the U.S Energy Information Administration due later in the day at 3pm GMT.
Elsewhere, market concerns on the supply situation in the Middle East continued to ease, putting downside pressure on prices.
“Crude oil extended losses on signs the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on the oil market will be limited,” ANZ analysts said in a client note.
