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Global benchmark Brent crude was down 53 cents at $46.42 a
barrel at 1217 GMT (7:17 a.m. ET). It closed Tuesday 5.7 percent
higher on news that members of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries would renew efforts to limit production.
U.S. crude was 63 cents lower at $45.18 a barrel.
"Prices are down on the build in U.S. crude oil stocks reported
by the API last night," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London
brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
A strong dollar also weighed on oil, with the index measured
against a basket of currencies <.DXY> hitting a 14-year high.
Weekly U.S. crude oil stocks surged by 3.6 million barrels last
week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) industry group
said, exceeding analyst expectations of a 1.5-million-barrel
rise. [API/S]
The news dampened a rally infused by news that OPEC members were
meeting ahead of an official group gathering on Nov. 30 to build
consensus for a deal to limit output, and by oil pipeline
attacks by militants in Nigeria.
A number of energy ministers from OPEC countries are likely to
meet informally in Doha on Friday to try to build consensus over
decisions taken by the full group in September in Algiers, an
Algerian energy source said.
"We estimate the possibility of an actual OPEC production cut as
50-50," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro.
"If OPEC would stick to its intention to set its production
ceiling at 32.5 million barrels a day, or even lower, market
optimism will likely pick up, which could be supportive for oil
prices."
The Dutch bank lowered its oil price forecasts on Wednesday,
expecting Brent and U.S. crude to average $50 a barrel in the
fourth quarter.
In a bullish signal for the oil market, the International Energy
Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday oil consumption will peak no
sooner than 2040 despite the entering into force of the Paris
climate deal which intends to wean the world off fossil fuels by
the end of the century.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by
Dale Hudson and David Evans)
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