Oil prices slipped on Thursday after a rise in U.S. gasoline inventories helped push U.S. oil stocks to a record high, reinforcing worries of a global oversupply.
U.S. crude and oil product stocks rose 2.62 million barrels in the week to July 15 to an all-time high of 2.08 billion barrels, the U.S. Energy Department said.
U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose 911,000 barrels in the week, against a forecast for unchanged, and were well above the upper limit of the average range, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. [EIA/S]
Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates, said the build in U.S. oil inventories reflected a very well supplied global market.
“There is lots of oil around,” said Varga. “Market strength is not sustainable.”
U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery CLc1, the new front-month contract from Thursday, was down 10 cents at $45.65 a barrel by 1235 GMT. The August contract expired on Wednesday after rising 29 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $44.94 a barrel.
via Reuters