SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices fell on Wednesday as industry data pointed to a big build in crude oil and distillate stocks in the United States and as pressure mounted on OPEC to increase supply.
Brent crude futures fell 74 cents to $83.98 a barrel by 0540 GMT, after dropping to a session-low of $83.27 earlier.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures tumbled $1.10 to $82.81 per barrel, after dropping to a low of $82.26 earlier.
“Crude prices are declining after the API reported the sixth straight week of crude oil inventory builds and as the Biden administration exhausts every possible plea to OPEC+ members before tapping their Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Reuters cited Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA, as saying.
“World leaders are running out of cards to pressure OPEC+ and that should mean whatever dip that comes from tapping strategic reserves from China or the US will likely be bought into.”
