WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures settled roughly flat on Wednesday, recovering well from early lows, as traders weighed demand and supply levels, and reacted to virus and geo-political news.
While data showing a larger than expected increase in crude stockpiles in the week ended July 17, rising tensions between the U.S. and China, and concerns about energy demand outlook amid the surge in coronavirus cases weighed on prices, the dollar's continued weakness limited oil's decline.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $0.02 at $41.90 a barrel.
Brent crude futures slid $0.03 to $44.29 a barrel.
According to the data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning, crude inventories in the U.S. increased by 4.9 million barrels last week, nearly 2.5 times the expected increase.
The EIA data also showed that oil stored at the Cushing, Oklahoma, facility rose 1.37 million barrels last week. That was nearly two times the expected surge.
A report from the American Petroleum Institute, released late Tuesday showed oil inventories were up more than 7.5 million barrels last week, after seen an 8.3 million barrels drop a week earlier.
Meanwhile, tensions between the U.S. and China have come to the fore again after the U.S. asked Beijing to close its diplomatic consulate in Houston within the next 72 hours and Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the action and warned of retaliation if the U.S. does not reverse its decision.
In coronavirus news, the U.S. pandemic may 'get worse before it gets better' President Donald Trump said as the country reported more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday. More than 65,000 new covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, adding to a nationwide tally of more than 3,874,000 since the pandemic began.
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