By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Thursday, extending losses from the previous day, pressured by large builds in U.S. fuel inventories last week, though concerns over tighter supplies from OPEC members and Russia capped the decline.
futures fell 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $75.88 a barrel by 0125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.02.
Both benchmarks lost more than 1% on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar and a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. fuel stockpiles weighed on prices.
Gasoline stocks rose by 6.3 million barrels last week to 237.7 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 1.5 million-barrel build.
Distillate stockpiles rose by 6.1 million barrels in the week to 128.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 600,000-barrel rise.
But crude inventories fell by 959,000 barrels in the week, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 184,000-barrel draw.
“Increased U.S. fuel inventories prompted some selling, but the downside is limited due to the winter demand season in the northern hemisphere,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan (OTC:) Securities.
Looking ahead, China’s demand trends, the incoming U.S. administration’s energy and trade policies, and its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war will be key focuses, he noted, adding that traders were likely to refrain from taking large positions until President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, the Brent futures first-month contract premium to the six-month contract on Wednesday reached its widest since August 2024, reflecting concerns of tightening supply and expectations of a revival in Chinese demand.
Oil output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries fell in December after two months of increase, a Reuters survey showed. Field maintenance in the United Arab Emirates offset a Nigerian output hike and gains elsewhere in the group.
In Russia, oil output averaged 8.971 million barrels a day in December, below the country’s target, Bloomberg reported.
