Oil prices dropped on Wednesday as the inventory build in U.S. industry data exceeded expectations, while coronavirus cases continue to surge in the United States, the world s biggest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute reported a 7.5-million-barrel increase in crude inventories last week compared with expectations for a 2.1-million-barrel decline.
Brent crude was down 0.7%, or 32 cents, to $44 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8%, or 33 cents, at $41.59 per barrel.
Oil prices rose nearly $1 in the previous session, their highest since early March.
Also weighing on oil prices was the contraction in Japan s factory activity for the 15th straight month, showing lower economic activity in the fourth-largest oil consumer.
Meanwhile, OPEC s second-largest oil producer, Iraq is still not meeting its target cut under the deal agreed in the organization s meeting.
Southern Iraqi exports averaged 2.70 million bpd in the first 20 days of July, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.
https://www.umarkets.com/en/news/oil-falls-on-us-crude-inventory-build-coronavirus-fears