NEW YORK: Brent oil futures dipped yesterday as a higher-than-expected build in US crude oil inventories weighed on prices, although losses were capped by unrest in Libya.
The build in stocks briefly lifted US crude, or West Texas Intermediate (WTI), before it resumed its downward trend during the session. Brent’s continued outperformance of WTI widened the spread between the two benchmarks to a new eight-month high of $18.77 yesterday.
US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed US crude stocks rose by almost 3 million barrels to their highest level for this time of year since records began in 1982. The report followed data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday that showed stocks rose by 6.9 million barrels last week.
Brent crude fell 22 cents to $110.66 a barrel by 1733 GMT, reversing course after earlier hitting $111.54. US oil fell $1.64 to $92.03 a barrel.Reuters
