Oil down after weekly U.S. crude stocks exceed expectations

Oil fell in Asian trade on Wednesday morning, paring two straight days of gains after an industry report showed U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week in a sign fuel demand may be weakening.

Brent futures, which have risen more than 3% this week, were down 37 cents, or 0.5%, at $74.95 a barrel at 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 39 cents, or 0.6%, at $69.28.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose by about 3.3 million barrels in the week ended March 17, sources said.