SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices fell on Thursday amid thin trading volumes ahead of a public holiday, as traders weighed a larger-than-expected build in U.S. oil stocks against tightening global supply.
Brent futures were down $1.41 at $107.4 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were off $1.53 at $102.7 a barrel at 0723 GMT.
Both contracts on Wednesday had shrugged off a large build in U.S. crude inventories to end the trading session roughly 4% higher, according to Reuters.
“Asian buyers have been absent today, with volumes potentially being curbed by the long weekend across most of Asia, Europe, and North America,” Reuters quoted OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley as saying.
The International Energy Agency on Wednesday warned that from May onwards roughly 3 million barrels per day of Russian oil could be shut-in due to sanctions or voluntary embargoes.
Despite signals that global supply disruption will persist, oil stocks in the U.S. rose by more than 9 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, driven in part by releases from the nation’s strategic reserves.
