US Crude Inventory Build Cuts Oil Prices Amid Ongoing Supply Disruptions
Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday due to an unexpected rise in US crude inventories. Brent crude futures declined by 1% to $107.6 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 1.4% to $104.4 a barrel.
The increase in US inventory was larger than expected, with stocks rising by 7.1 million barrels last week. This build-up put pressure on prices and provided a counterweight to concerns about tightening global supplies.
Conversely, supply disruptions in Saudi Arabia and Libya kept the decline in check. The East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia was suspended following an attack that disrupted oil exports, while operations at three oil fields were halted in Libya due to a valve shutdown on the Hamada-Zawiya crude export pipeline.
The uncertainty over the timeline for restoring the East-West pipeline and the impact of these supply disruptions kept traders focused on physical supply flows. As a result, crude prices remained volatile despite Wednesday's decline.