By: Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: Oil prices declined on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a higher-than-expected US crude oil inventories, despite OPEC’s adherence to the agreed upon production cuts.
International benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.16% or 9 cents to reach $55.35 per barrel by 4:25am GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell 0.24% or 13 cents to reach $53.05 per barrel.
US crude oil inventories increased by 2.9 million barrels this week, according to the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) report, beating analysts’ expectations of 2.8 million barrels.
Investors’ sentiment was negatively affected by expectations of an increase in US oil production, offsetting the news that Saudi Arabia’s output is likely to drop to around 9.9 million barrels per day in January, commodity analyst Zamel Alotaibi said.
Expectations of higher US inventories are expected to weigh on the market, Alotaibi added.
Translated by: Julian Nabil
