Oil rigs extracting petroleum (David McNew/Getty Images)Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday (22 May) after industry data showed that there is an increase in United States’ oil inventory. Brent crude futures were down by 38 cents at $71.80, a 0.5 per cent fall from its previous day's end of the trade.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the North American benchmark, slipped 58 cents at $62.55, a 0.9 per cent fall from the last close, reports Financial Express.
The US crude stockpiles rose by 2.4 million barrels last week, to 480.2 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 599,000 barrels, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).
The slide in oil prices were reportedly also linked to Saudi Arabia's commitment to balance the market supply and prices. They can also be attributed to the low global demand owing to the trade tensions between US and China.
Due to the trade tensions the global oil demand fell to just 0.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of this year, versus a five-year average of 1.5 million bpd.
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