Oil prices edge lower with focus on U.S. inventory draw, Fed meeting
Investing.com-- Oil prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Wednesday as markets digested signs of a large drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, while anticipation of a Federal Reserve interest rate decision kept sentiment subdued.
Prices saw a measure of profit taking on Tuesday after briefly racing to their highest levels in 10 months, as recent, deeper-than-expected supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia pointed to substantially tighter oil markets in the remainder of the year.
Signs of a bigger-than-expected weekly draw in U.S. inventories furthered expectations of tighter markets, although gasoline inventories were seen rising again, signaling that fuel demand in the world’s largest oil consumer may be cooling after a summer peak.
Brent oil futures fell 0.1% to $94.14 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.2% to $90.34 a barrel by 20:46 ET (00:46 GMT). Both contracts were trading just below their highest levels since November 2022.
Analysts expect oil prices to trade in a range of $90 to $100 a barrel for the remainder of the year.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on late-Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories likely shrank by over 5 million barrels in the week to September 15.
The API data usually heralds a similar trend from government inventory data, which is due later on Wednesday, and is expected to show a draw of 2.7 million barrels.
While U.S. inventories saw a build of nearly 4 million barrels in the week to September 8, they have shrunk more than expected for four of the past five weeks, indicating that U.S. crude markets remain tight.
But the API also reported a weekly build in gasoline inventories, while distillates stockpiles are expected to have shrunk at a
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