Oil prices edge lower on signs of easing crude supply tightness

NEW YORK — Oil prices closed slightly lower on Tuesday on signs of easing supply concerns, while market participants shifted their focus to US stockpiles data due later today and Wednesday.

Brent crude futures settled 17 cents lower at $83.16 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed 10 cents lower at $78.38.

Prices fell further in thin post-settlement trading after market sources said that data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a jump in US crude and fuel stocks last week. Rising inventories, typically a sign of weak demand, have defied analysts’ expectations in recent weeks.

Analysts polled by Reuters forecast a decrease in US oil and fuel stockpiles, and official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures traded at $82.98 a barrel by 4:48 p.m. ET, 35 cents lower than Monday’s closing price, and WTI futures were down 23 cents to $78.26 a barrel. US gasoline futures and ultra-low sulfur diesel futures also fell in extended trading.

Current global inventory data shows crude oil and petroleum supplies are running 1.1 million barrel per day above forecasts in developed economies, according to an analysis by energy brokerage StoneX.

The EIA on Tuesday raised its forecasts for this year’s world oil and liquid fuels output and lowered its demand expectations, pointing to a wellsupplied market as opposed to prior forecasts that showed undersupply.

The premium of the firstmonth Brent contract to the six-month contract slipped to $2.90 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest since mid-February, another sign of market participants betting on easing supply tightness.

Last week, Brent and WTI had their steepest weekly losses in three months as weak US jobs data fueled hopes for interest rate cuts.

Oil prices found some support in Tuesday’s session from a US government solicitation to buy more than three million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. —