Singapore November 15 2024: Oil prices edged down early on Friday as oversupply concerns and demand worries stemming from a stronger dollar outweighed a steep draw in U.S. fuel stocks.
Brent crude futures were down 30 cents, or 0.41%, at $72.26 a barrel by 0105 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 25 cents, or 0.36%, at $68.45.
For the week, Brent is set to fall about 2.2% while WTI is set to decline 2.7%.
U.S. crude inventories last week rose by 2.1 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday, much more than analysts’ expectations for a 750,000-barrel rise.
Meanwhile, gasoline stocks fell by 4.4 million barrels last week to the lowest since November 2022, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 600,000-barrel build. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, also fell unexpectedly by 1.4 million barrels, the data showed.
