Oil prices slid $3 a barrel on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed big builds in crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories and OPEC and its allies stuck to their output policy.
Brent crude futures were down $2.6, or 3.5%, at $82.50 a barrel by 12:50 p.m. ET (1750 GMT). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude futures fell $2.67, or 3.4% to $76.20.
U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories rose last week to their highest levels since June 2021, the Energy Information Administration said, as demand remained weak.
Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) climbed 4.1 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 27 to 452.7 million barrels, much steeper than the 0.4 million barrel rise that analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll. It was the sixth straight weekly build, as refining utilization declined and net imports climbed.
“The market is reacting to the report that indicates there isn’t demand for crude oil or fuels,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
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