Crude oil falls after large surprise build in US crude stocks
Oil prices dipped in early trade on Thursday for the third straight session after data showed an unexpected, large build in U.S. crude stocks last week, triggering fears of an oversupply amid signs of weaker Chinese demand, too. Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 40 cents, or 0.6% to $72.20 a barrel by 0023 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) eased 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $67.70 a barrel.
Both benchmarks had settled down more than $1 on Wednesday after steep declines the day before. U.S. crude oil inventories rose by about 5.2 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. That compared with estimates in a Reuters poll for a drawdown of 1.4 million barrels.
