Oil prices drop as big build in US crude stockpiles raises spectre of supply glut

Oil prices drop as big build in US crude stockpiles raises spectre of supply glut
2020-11-18T06:34:22+00:00

Shafaq News / Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude stockpiles stoked fears for weak fuel demand and a potential supply glut, but hopes that OPEC and its allies will postpone a planned January increase to oil output braked losses, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures for January LCOc1 dropped 14 cents, or 0.3%, to $43.61 a barrel by 0142 GMT having lost 0.2% on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for December CLc1 slid 25 cents, or 0.6%, to $41.18 a barrel, reversing a 0.2% gain on Tuesday.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels last week, well above analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a build of 1.7 million barrels. [EIA/S] [API/S].

To tackle weaker energy demand amid a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia called on fellow members of the OPEC+ grouping - OPEC and other producers including Russia - to be flexible in responding to oil market needs as it builds the case for a tighter production policy in 2021.

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