Prices for petroleum fell on Wednesday after industry data showed an unexpected build in crude inventory in the United States and as investors waited for news on whether a fresh round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods would take effect on Sunday.
Brent futures fell by $1.14, or 1.8%, to $63.21 U.S. per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 93 cents, or 1.6%, to $58.29, down from a more-than-two-month high reached on Tuesday.
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed stockpiles rose by 800,000 barrels for the week ending Dec. 6.
U.S. crude stocks clocked a surprise rise in the most recent week while gasoline and distillate inventories also rose, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute shows.
Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to Dec. 6 to 447 million, while analysts were expecting a fall of 2.8 million barrels.
Also adding to global supply, U.S. producers Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Hess (NYSE:HES) plan to export the first-ever shipments of crude oil from Guyana between January and February, a milestone for Latin America’s newest oil producer, sources with knowledge of the plans said.
Elsewhere, Venezuela’s crude output in November jumped more than 20% from the prior month to the highest level since the United States tightened sanctions on state oil company PDVSA in August, two people with knowledge of PDVSA data said this week.
Investors are also keeping an eye on other major events this week including the British election on Thursday and U.S. and European Central Bank meetings for further trading cues.
