Brent crude futures were down $1.38, or 1.6%, to $83.34 a barrel
at 0950 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
tumbled $1.60, or 1.9%, to $82.31 a barrel.
"Crude prices are declining after the API reported the sixth
straight week of crude oil inventory builds and as the Biden
administration exhausts every possible plea to OPEC+ members
before tapping their Strategic Petroleum Reserve," said Edward
Moya, senior analyst at OANDA.
President Joe Biden, speaking at a climate summit in Glasgow,
blamed a surge in oil and gas prices on a refusal by OPEC
nations to pump more crude.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its
allies, a group known as OPEC+, meets on Thursday to review its
policy and is expected to reconfirm plans for monthly increases.
"The producer group is expected to maintain its 400,000 barrel
per day monthly supply increases. This, in turn, should preserve
this quarter’s supply deficit," said Stephen Brennock of broker
PVM.
U.S. crude and distillate fuel stocks rose last week while
gasoline declined, according to market sources citing American
Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. [API/S]
Crude stocks rose by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended Oct.
29. Gasoline inventories fell by 552,000 barrels and distillate
stocks rose by 573,000 barrels, the data showed, according to
the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the
statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, will be
released later on Wednesday.
In a sign that high prices are encouraging more supply
elsewhere, BP said on Tuesday it would ramp up investments in
its onshore U.S. shale oil and gas business to $1.5 billion in
2022 from $1 billion this year.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Jaganathan and Florence
TanEditing by Kim Coghill and Mark Potter)
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