|
Brent crude futures for June declined 95 cents, or 1.4%, to
$65.62 a barrel at 0941 GMT, heading for their biggest daily
drop in over two weeks.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June fell
93 cents, or 1.4%, to $61.74 a barrel. The May contract expired
on Tuesday down 1.5% at $62.44.
"Demand jitters were thrust back into the spotlight yesterday
amid a sharp rise in global coronavirus cases. Nowhere is this
more obvious than in India," PVM analysts said.
India, also the world's third-largest oil user, on Wednesday
reported another record increase in the daily death toll from
COVID-19.
Further battering the market, data from the American Petroleum
Institute (API) industry group showed U.S. crude oil and
distillate stocks rose in the week ended April 16, according to
two market sources.
Crude stocks rose by 436,000 barrels, API reported, according to
the sources. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will
release its inventory data for last week later on Wednesday. For
a Reuters poll on EIA data, click
Raising the possibility of further oil supply, Iran and world
powers have made headway in talks to save a 2015 nuclear accord,
which, if successful, could see sanctions lifted and more
Iranian barrels return to the market.
Still, major oil trading companies are stowing diesel and jet
fuel on newly built supertankers in Asia and Africa in
anticipation of COVID-19 vaccinations driving prices higher in
the months ahead.
(Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Koustav
Samanta in Singapore, editing by Louise Heavens)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
