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Brent crude futures fell 90 cents, or 1.08%, to $82.75 a barrel
by 0902 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) were
down 92 cents, or 1.17%, at $77.95.
Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda
Insights, attributed the price falls to profit-taking plus a
combined response to a surge in U.S. crude stocks and continuing
hopes of Gaza ceasefire deal in the coming days.
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman had signaled on Tuesday
that she was in no rush to cut U.S. interest rates, particularly
given continuing inflation risks. Higher-for-longer rates could
dampen economic growth and suppress demand for oil.
U.S. crude stocks, meanwhile, showed an 8.43 million barrel
build in the week ended Feb. 23, according to market sources
citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures.
Gasoline inventories fell by 3.27 million barrels, and
distillate stocks fell by 523,000 barrels, the data showed.
[API/S]
Brent and WTO futures rose more than $1 a barrel on Tuesday
after Reuters reported that the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia (OPEC+) will
consider extending voluntary oil output cuts into the second
quarter.
Last November OPEC+ agreed to voluntary cuts totalling about 2.2
million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of this
year, led by Saudi Arabia rolling over its own voluntary cut.
Analysts at ANZ Research said that such a move by the OPEC+
alliance would be likely to tighten the market.
Russian authorities on Tuesday announced a six-month ban on
gasoline exports from March 1 to compensate for rising demand
from consumers and farmers and to allow for planned refinery
maintenance.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten in London, Mohi Narayan in New Delhi
and Andrew Hayley in Beijing; Editing by David Goodman)
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