Oil fell as an industry report showed the biggest rise in US inventories in more than three months and a selloff swept global markets.
Brent slid toward $64 a barrel, after dropping on Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate was near $60. US crude inventories rose 6.5 million barrels last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute. That would be the biggest jump since July 25 if confirmed by official data later Wednesday.
Broader financial markets had a risk-off tone, hurting most commodities, after a global equities rally hit a speed bump and a gauge of the US currency climbed to the highest in more than five months. The stock market losses deepened in Asia on Wednesday, as US equity futures slipped.
Brent crude has fallen 14% this year as increased production from OPEC+ and non-member nations amplified concerns that a global glut would form. The alliance — led by Saudi Arabia and Russia — announced another modest rise in supply for December at a meeting last weekend, while also signaling a pause in further increases in the first quarter of 2026.
“The market’s caught in a tug-of-war between short-term inventory builds and the longer-term risk of slowing demand, with sentiment tilting bearish ahead of the official EIA data,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova Pte in Singapore, referring to the Energy Information Administration’s release that’s more closely watched than API figures.
Elsewhere, traders were monitoring attacks on Russian infrastructure, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced an intensification last month. Kyiv claimed a strike on Lukoil PJSC’s refinery in Nizhny Novgorod province, which processes about 340,000 barrels a day, mainly for domestic use. It has also targeted the Tuapse and Saratov plants over the past week.
Russia’s seaborne shipments fell the most since January 2024 last month, after US sanctions on major producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil led major buyers India and China to shun purchases.
“Down the line, you will see that more and more of the disrupted Russian oil, one way or another, finds its way to the market,” Gunvor Group Chief Executive Officer Torbjörn Törnqvist, said on Tuesday. “It always does somehow.”
The trading house is currently negotiating to buy the international assets and trading arm of Lukoil.
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| Brent for January slid 0.5% to $64.14 a barrel at 11:07 a.m. in Singapore.WTI for December delivery fell 0.5% to $60.24 a barrel. |
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