Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade on Wednesday as market reports pointed to an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventory, while traders remained on edge ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data later in the day.
By 10:57 a.m. Bangkok time, Brent oil futures fell to $76.90 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped to $73.18 per barrel. After falling to a 17-month low last week, both contracts have recovered and are trading up between 2.7% and 3.1% this week.
As concerns about a U.S. banking crisis subsided, markets rallied from a three-week low, and crude oil prices rose sharply. Markets were encouraged to buy after reading reports that the White House intends to begin restocking the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which had dwindled to 40-year lows over the previous year.
However, this was partly offset by data from the American Petroleum Institute indicating that U.S. inventories increased by an unexpected 3.6 million barrels in the week ending May 5.
The US inflation figures due later on Wednesday will be widely watched for a further indication of the Federal Reserve’s potential interest-rate path in the second half of the year as the economy slows, which might hurt energy demand.
