U. S. oil prices fell for a fifth straight session Wednesday after weekly inventory data showed an unexpected increase in crude supplies.
Commercial crude-oil stockpiles rose by 400,000 barrels in the week ended July 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a drop of 1 million barrels. Supplies usually decline in the summer as refineries process more crude oil into gasoline and other fuels.
Crude inventories starting shrinking in April after hitting a record high, boosting prices, but the last two reports have surprised the market by showing stockpile builds.
“This puts some water on the fire,” said Donald Morton, senior vice president at Herbert J. Sims & Co., who oversees an energy-trading desk.
Light, sweet crude settled down 68 cents, or 1.3%, at $51.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since April 10. Brent, the global benchmark, rose 20 cents, or 0.4%, to $57.05 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Prices slumped earlier in the week on concerns about growing crude production in the U.S. and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and worries that an economic crisis in Greece and the stock-market selloff in China could slow economic growth and weaken global oil demand. Ongoing negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, which could lead to a lifting of sanctions on Iranian crude exports, added to the uncertainty.
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