New Delhi: Due to increase in crude oil reserves in the US, the prices of crude oil fell on the international level on Wednesday.
At around 11.10 am, Brent’s December contract on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $92.71 a barrel, down 0.87% from its previous close. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) December contract fell 0.64% to $84.77 a barrel on the NYMEX.
According to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), crude oil reserves in the US increased by 4.5 million barrels for the week ended October 21. Analysts said the rise in inventory raised fears of a fall in demand, amid continued global supply concerns amid geopolitical tensions.
Weak sugar import data also weighed on prices. China imported 9.8 million barrels per day in September, down 2% from the year-ago period. China is the second largest importer of crude oil and the fall in imports affects aggregate demand.
On Monday, China released its GDP data for the third quarter that showed year-on-year growth of 3.9%, which exceeded expectations. However, the growth rate is well below the official target of around 5.5%.
Recent COVID containment measures and restrictions have affected business activities in several major Chinese cities.
Crude oil prices also saw a weakness due to the strengthening of the dollar. An appreciation of the dollar makes crude oil more expensive for importing countries along with other currencies, affecting global demand.
Analysts said investors are awaiting official data on US crude reserves, which will be released by the US Energy Information Administration later in the day.
Retail prices of petrol and diesel remained unchanged in India, despite a fall in global crude oil prices. Petrol is sold in the national capital 96.72 per liter, while the price of diesel is 89.62 per liter.
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