Oil snaps 3-day winning streak, crashes 2% on poor US demand; Brent drops 6% in May ahead of OPEC+ verdict
₹6,488 per barrel on the multi-commodity exchange (MCX).Both crude oil benchmarks were headed for monthly losses, with Brent futures on track for a decline of more than six per cent from last month, while WTI was poised for a slide exceeding 4.5 per cent, according to news agency Reuters.Also Read: Oil prices hit 4-week high ahead of OPEC+ policy verdict, US demand hopes; Brent highest since May 1 at $85/bbl-US crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refiners in the country ramped up to their highest utilization rates in over nine months, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA). There was a surprise jump in gasoline and distillate fuel inventories as demand weakened even as output rose.-Crude stocks declined by 4.16 million barrels in the week ended May 24, EIA data showed.
Gasoline and distillate stockpiles together were about 4.57 million barrels higher. Analysts said that the weakness in gasoline markets have continued to drag down the rest of the oil complex.-Analysts had expected that the US Memorial Day holiday on May 27-- the start of the US summer driving season, would boost fuel demand.
Yet EIA's measure of gasoline demand slipped about two per cent from the prior week to 9.15 million barrels per day.-Further pressuring oil prices, investors' risk-appetite has been subdued by the prospect of delayed monetary easing in the US and Europe, said analysts at financial brokerage ActivTrades. "Fear trading" is dominating financial markets ahead of Friday's US consumer price index data, according to analysts.Oil investors are also cautious ahead of the OPEC meeting this weekend.
The producer group will decide whether to extend, deepen or unwind supply cuts. Soft fuel demand and rising global oil
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