US crude oil settled in a bear market on Wednesday and Brent lurched to a six month low after stockpiles of US crude unexpectedly jumped by the most in five weeks to a fresh 22-month high, adding to pressure on prices. West Texas Intermediate, the US crude marker, shed $1.80 to settle at $51.68 a barrel – the lowest since January, according to Refinitv data. The day’s slide pushed it into bear market territory, defined as a decline of 20 percent or more from a recent peak. WTI is now 22 percent lower than its April high of $66.30 a barrel. Brent crude settled $1.34, or 2.2 percent, lower at $60.63 a barrel and is edging towards a bear market. The global oil marker broke below the $60 a barrel level earlier in the day to hit its lowest since January.
Crude prices tumbled last month amid concerns the escalating trade war between the US and China could have a knock-on effect on the health of the global economy and weigh on demand for oil. The moves on Wednesday came as data showed stockpiles of US crude climbed by 6.8m barrels last week to 483.3m – the highest level since July 2017, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
That was the biggest build in five weeks. Analysts expected a draw of 849,000 barrels, according to a Refinitiv survey. Meanwhile, inventories of gasoline, a product that oil is refined into, rose by 3.2m barrels, against expectations for a smaller 630,000 barrel build.