Oil dips after surge in U.S. crude inventories
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a large jump in U.S. crude inventories in the aftermath of last month’s Texas winter storm, but price declines were limited due to an upbeat forecast for global economic recovery.
Brent crude lost 30 cents, or 0.4%, at $67.22 a barrel by 11:31 a.m. EST (1631 GMT) and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude shed 38 cents, or 0.6%, at $63.63 a barrel.
U.S. crude oil stocks jumped 13.8 million barrels last week, far exceeding forecasts for a 816,000-barrel rise, as the nation’s oil industry continued to feel the effects of a winter storm mid-February that stalled refining and forced production shut-ins in Texas.
