Oil falls on surprise build in US crude stocks, Trump threat to stimulus
Oil fell in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude oil stocks rose last week, defying expectations for a decline, and U.S. President Donald Trump rattled markets by threatening not to sign a long-awaited COVID-19 relief bill.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 46 cents, or 1%, to $46.56 a barrel at 0142 GMT, while Brent crude futures dropped 46 cents, or 0.9%, to $49.62.
Both contracts fell nearly 2% on Tuesday, in a second straight session of declines, with Brent just managing to settle above $50 ahead of the release of the data from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
