Oil prices fall ahead of U.S. inventory data

Oil prices fall ahead of U.S. inventory data
NEW YORK, March 9 — Oil prices declined on Tuesday, as market participants awaited U.S. crude stockpiles data.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery lost 1.04 U.S. dollars to settle at 64.01 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery decreased 72 cents to close at 67.52 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to release the nation’s weekly crude stockpiles data on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected the EIA to report a climb of 2.7 million barrels in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending March 5.
Tuesday’s slide came after oil’s recent rally fueled by OPEC+’s surprise decision on Thursday to extend most production cuts into April.
For the week ending Friday, WTI crude rose 7.5 percent, while Brent crude surged 7.7 percent.
Looking ahead, experts said downside risks are likely on the oil market.
“We regard the euphoria on the oil market as premature,” Eugen Weinberg, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Tuesday.
“We expect demand growth to slow, especially in view of the very high prices,” he said, adding an expected sharp rise in non-OPEC production is another risk. (Xinhua)