Oil Prices Drop as Surprise U.S. Crude Build-Outweighs Saudi Disruption Fears
Oil prices declined on Wednesday after an unexpected surge in U.S. crude oil inventories overshadowed concerns over potential supply disruptions following attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure.
The Brent crude futures price fell by 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude price dropped by 97 cents, or 0.92%, to $104.86 a barrel during early trading.
The decline followed a sharp rally a day earlier that pushed both benchmarks to their highest levels since May amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Market sentiment shifted after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an unexpected 7.1 million-barrel increase in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending September 11, contrary to analysts' expectations of a drawdown of about 1.6 million barrels.