WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell again on Wednesday after snapping a four-day losing streak the previous day.
Benchmark Brent crude traded flat at $61.98 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.6 percent at $53.16 a barrel.
While an unexpected gain in U.S. inventories weighed on prices, the downside remained capped by a recovery in equities amid expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates.
U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week, while gasoline and distillate stockpiles built more than expected, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.
The API reported a surprise build in crude oil inventory of 3.545 million barrels for the week ending May 31.
The report also showed a stockpile increase of 2.7 million barrels in gasoline, while distillate supplies jumped higher by 6.3 million barrel.
Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later in the day.
Oil prices have been falling sharply in recent sessions on concerns that demand growth will slow significantly from next year against the backdrop of slowing global growth due to the U.S.-China trade war.
To prevent inventories from increasing, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, together with allies including Russia, has withheld production since the start of the year. The next OPEC meeting is scheduled for June 25-26.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
