LONDON: World oil prices dipped on Wednesday before publication of a closely-watched report on energy inventories in the United States, the world’s biggest energy consuming nation.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, dropped 12 cents to 81.37 dollars a barrel.
London’s Brent North Sea crude for April delivery eased seven cents to stand at 79.84 dollars per barrel.
Analysts said trading was volatile as investors waited for signs of firmer demand in the United States after an industry report showed a surprise build-up of crude stocks indicating weaker demand.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday that US crude stockpiles for the week ended March 5 rose 6.5 million barrels. Analysts polled by Platts had anticipated an increase of 2.1 million barrels.
“The API reported quite bearish results yesterday. The crude build-up was larger than expected,” said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst with ANZ bank.
She said the focus would now be on a report by the US Department of Energy on oil inventories to be released later Wednesday for indications on energy demand.
“The market currently lacks direction and has been moving in a narrow range between 80 and 82 dollars,” said Ken Hasegawa, manager for energy risk at Newedge Japan brokerage in Tokyo.
Oil also fell in value on Tuesday, under pressure from a stronger greenback, which makes dollar-priced crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies — and tends to weigh on demand.
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