Oil prices fell on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropping to its lowest since January after U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly surged, adding to concerns about slowing global growth. Futures strengthened slightly early in the session and then plunged after U.S. inventory data was released.
Brent futures settled down $1.34, or 2.2%, at $60.63 a barrel. WTI ended $1.80, or 3.4%, lower at $51.68 a barrel. During the session, WTI touched a low of $50.60 a barrel, its lowest since Jan. 14. U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate stocks rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose 6.8 million barrels, compared with analyst expectations for an 849,000-barrel drawdown, to their highest since July 2017 and about 6% above the five year average for this time of year. “The across-the-board inventory builds makes for a very bearish report,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital.
A surge in imports and an increase in domestic production boosted inventories, he said. Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 1.1 million barrels per day, while crude production added another 100,000 bpd to a new peak at 12.4 million bpd, EIA data showed.