Oil dips on demand worries despite surprise drop in US crude stocks
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped for a fourth day on Wednesday on worries about rocky demand in Europe, even as hopes of a recovery in U.S. refinery activity were boosted by industry data that showed U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell last week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dipped 5 cents to $64.75 a barrel at 0229 GMT, after climbing as much as 28 cents in early trade.
Brent crude futures fell 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $68.29 a barrel, after initially gaining as much as 23 cents.
The market has been drifting lower over the past few days amid concerns about stalled vaccine rollouts slowing a recovery in fuel demand.
“Concerns that demand could fall further have been rising as Europe’s health ministers suspend the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine amid health concerns,” ANZ Research said in a note.
