Oil prices dip after industry data shows U.S. crude stockpiles rising

KEY POINTS

• Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, after industry data showed U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose last week, signaling a potential hiccup in demand.
• S. crude stocks rose by about 2.2 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 5, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures.
• Brent crude futures fell 6 cents to $96.25 a barrel by 0002 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 16 cents to $90.34 a barrel.
• Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, after industry data showed U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose last week, signaling a potential hiccup in demand.
• S. crude stocks rose by about 2.2 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 5, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Analysts had forecast a small 400,000-barrel drop in crude inventories.
• Official government data is due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
• Brent crudefutures fell 6 cents to $96.25 a barrel by 0002 GMT. S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 16 cents to $90.34 a barrel.
• On Tuesday, oil prices settled slightly lower after a choppy trading session that saw investors weigh recessionary concerns with news that some oil exports had been suspended on the Russia-to-Europe Druzhba pipeline that transits Ukraine.
• Ukraine halted oil flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to parts of central Europe because Western sanctions had prevented a payment from Moscow for transit fees from going through.
• Flows along the southern route of the Druzhba pipeline have been affected while the northern route serving Poland and Germany was uninterrupted.
• The Czech Republic’s pipeline company MERO said it expected Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic to restart within several days.
• Though concerns over a potential global recession have weighed on oil futures recently, U.S. oil refiners and pipeline operators expect energy consumption to be strong for the second half of 2022, according to a Reuters review of company earnings calls.