Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Tuesday, extending the downtrend from the previous trading session, triggered by the US President’s latest tweets on “oil prices getting too high”. Furthermore, expectations of an increase in last week’s US crude inventory had added downward pressure to the crude markers.
At 10:50 am Singapore time (0250 GMT), ICE April Brent crude futures ticked down 10 cents/b (0.15%) from Monday’s settle at $64.66/b, while the NYMEX April light sweet crude contract moved 28 cents/b (0.5%) to $55.20/b. US crude inventory for the week ended February 12 are expected to have increased by 4 million barrels, according to analysts surveyed Monday by S&P Global Platts.
If confirmed by the official data, which is due for release from the US Energy Information Administration later Wednesday, it would mark the sixth consecutive week of increase in US crude stocks. The expected build comes amid steady US crude exports and an expected increase in US refinery activity. According to S&P Global Platts Analytics, US exports should average around 2.62 million b/d for the week ended February 22, well-below the EIA’s record 3.61 million b/d.
Meanwhile, analysts surveyed expect US gasoline stocks to have fallen 1.8 million barrels last week, while US distillate stocks are expected to have fallen 2 million barrels. The bearish expectation by analysts added further pressure to prices, which were on a downtrend triggered by the latest tweet made by US President Donald Trump on Monday.