Oil prices fall, pressured in part by increase in US crude inventories

Oil prices edged lower yesterday, fluctuating during the session. They were pressured by signs of ample supply, including an increase in US inventories. Support came from hopes of an economic recovery and higher demand in China, where manufacturing activity surged in February.

At around 19:10 CET, the price of North Sea Brent crude was down 0.2 percent at 83,32 dollars per barrel. US light crude WTI was down 0.6 percent at the same time, trading at 76,61 dollars per barrel.

US crude inventories rose for the tenth consecutive week to their highest level since May 2021, increasing by 1,2 million barrels last week to 480,2 million barrels. This is according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which exceeded analysts’ estimates. They had expected an increase of 457.000 barrels.

Another sign of ample supply is that Russian oil production reached its pre-sanctions level for the first time in February. The business daily Kommersant reported this. According to a Reuters survey, production by the OPEC oil cartel also increased in February.