Oil down as build in US stockpiles signals lackluster demand

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices slid on Wednesday over an unexpected rise in US crude oil inventories, while further losses have been capped ahead of EU sanctions on Russian oil effective from Dec.5.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $90.97 per barrel at 09.54 a.m. local time (0654 GMT) for a 0.84% decrease from the closing price of $91.74 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $84.79 per barrel at the same time for a 0.62% loss after the previous session closed at $85.32 a barrel.

In contrast to the market consensus of a 200,000-barrel increase, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported its estimate of a surge of over 4.5 million barrels in US crude oil stocks late Tuesday.

A more-than-expected stockpile increase signals a drop in crude demand, weighing prices down.

However, investor concerns over a lack of supply keep losses within a narrow range as EU countries prepare to sanction Russian oil exports in response to the latter's attack on Ukraine.

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said Tuesday that the world will still need Russian oil to flow to the market despite a price cap and US President Joe Biden’s decision to release another 15 million barrels of oil to the market.