Oil prices ease on surprise build in US crude stockpiles, OPEC+ to consider output hike
Oil prices eased about 1% to a two-week low on Thursday on a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories last week and expectations that OPEC+ producers will increase output targets at a meeting this weekend.
Brent crude futures fell 65 cents, or 1.0%, to settle at $66.95 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 49 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $63.48.
That was the lowest close for Brent since August 20.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms added 2.4 million barrels of crude into storage during the week ended August 29 as refineries headed into maintenance season. ,
That was a surprise build in crude stocks compared with the 2.0-million-barrel withdrawal analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and was higher than the 0.6-million-barrel increase that market sources said the American Petroleum Institute trade group cited in its figures on Wednesday.
The EIA and API reported inventory data a day later than usual due to the U.S. Labor Day holiday on Monday.
Eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia in OPEC+ will consider further increases to production in October at a meeting on Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
A potential OPEC+ production hike would send a strong signal that regaining market share takes priority over price support, said Tamas Varga, a senior analyst at PVM Oil Associates brokerage and consulting firm.
OPEC+ has already agreed to raise output targets by about 2.2 million barrels per day from April to September, in addition to a 300,000-bpd quota increase for the United Arab Emirates.
Source : Reuters
