Oil prices plunge 3% on U.S. inventory build, China COVID worries

Shafaq News / Oil prices sank by roughly $3 a barrel on Wednesday after industry data showed that U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected and on concerns that a rebound in COVID-19 cases in top importer China would hurt fuel demand.

Brent crude futures settled at $92.65 a barrel, shedding $2.71, or 2.8%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $85.83 a barrel, dropping $3.08, 3.5%. The benchmarks fell around 3% on Tuesday.

U.S. crude in storage jumped by 3.9 million barrels last week to 440.8 million barrels as oil production increased to about 12.1 million barrels a day, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed. Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected a stockpile rise of 1.4 million barrels.

"The report was once again mixed but tilted towards bearish, with the crude oil build and the jump in domestic production," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

U.S. gasoline stocks were down by 900,000 barrels in the week to 205.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a drop of 1.1 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by about 500,000 barrels, a smaller-than-expected decline.

(Reuters)