WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday, weighed down by official data showing an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended August 9th, and on recent downward revision in oil demand forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
U.S. President Joe Biden's comments on Tuesday that Iran might refrain from attacking Israel if a cease-fire deal is reached in Gaza weighed as well on oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down by $1.37 or about 1.75% at $76.98 a barrel.
Brent crude futures dropped to $79.76 a barrel, down $0.93 or about 1.15% from the previous close.
According to the data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels last week after falling by 3.7 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to decrease by another 2.0 million barrels.
At 430.7 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
Meanwhile, the EIA said gasoline inventories slumped 2.9 million barrels last week and are about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also fell by 1.7 million barrels last week and are about 7% below the five-year average for this time of year.
On the geopolitical front, a fresh round of cease-fire talks is scheduled to begin tomorrow in Qatar. However, a Reuters report quotes Hamas as saying that the militant group does not plan to take part in the negotiations.
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