Oil Drops as Report of Swelling U.S. Stockpiles Aids Bear View

(Bloomberg) — Oil fell as an industry report signaling a jump in U.S. stockpiles eased immediate concerns over a supply crunch, while a drone attack in Saudi Arabia highlighted the vulnerability of the country’s energy infrastructure.

Futures in New York pared a loss of as much as 1.1% after closing up 1.2% on Tuesday. The American Petroleum Institute was said to report an 8.63 million-barrel increase in crude inventories last week, compared with a forecasted 1.2 million barrel decline in a Bloomberg survey, before government data due Wednesday. The Yemeni rebel attack on two Saudi pumping stations forced the world’s top oil exporter to temporarily shut its main cross-country crude link.

Oil has swung between gains and losses this month as investors weigh an increasingly tense situation in the Persian Gulf against an escalating U.S.-China trade war that’s threatening to curb demand. Key producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet in Jeddah this week to review the oil market before a ministerial meeting at which they will decide whether to extend output cuts beyond June.

The reported jump in inventories is “eroding the fear premium from heightened tensions in the Middle East,” said Vandana Hari, the Singapore-based founder of Vanda Insights. The setback in U.S.-China trade talks is helping the bears prevail over the bulls that are focused on OPEC production cuts, outages and supply risks, she said.

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell 14 cents, or 0.7%, to $61.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:42 a.m. in Singapore. It dropped as much 66 cents earlier after closing 74 cents higher on Tuesday.

for July settlement was down 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $71.02 a barrel on the London-based ICE (NYSE:) Futures Europe exchange after advancing 1.4% on Tuesday. The global benchmark contract is trading at a $9.45 premium to WTI.

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