World oil prices fell heavily, with New York crude sliding below $49, as swelling US inventories added to the global supply glut. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery tumbled $1.22 to $48.80 a barrel compared with Tuesday's close. Brent North Sea crude for March dropped $1.70 to $54.73 a barrel in late afternoon London deals. "The latest inventories data has reminded investors that the supply glut is here to stay for the time being," said analyst Fawad Razaqzada at trading site Forex.com.
The US government's Department of Energy (DoE) reported that commercial crude reserves rose 4.9m barrels in the week ending February 6. Stockpiles were "at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years", the DoE added in a statement. Market expectations had been for a smaller gain of 3.6m barrels, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg News. "The 4.9m-barrel increase in weekly oil inventories was not only more than expected but was also significantly higher than the build of 1.6m barrels that the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported," Mr Razaqzada told AFP.
"Consequently, WTI prices have taken another leg lower."
The US government's Department of Energy (DoE) reported that commercial crude reserves rose 4.9m barrels in the week ending February 6. Stockpiles were "at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years", the DoE added in a statement. Market expectations had been for a smaller gain of 3.6m barrels, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg News. "The 4.9m-barrel increase in weekly oil inventories was not only more than expected but was also significantly higher than the build of 1.6m barrels that the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported," Mr Razaqzada told AFP.
"Consequently, WTI prices have taken another leg lower."
No comments:
Post a Comment