Oil fell in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude oil stocks rose last week, defying expectations for a decline, and U.S. President Donald Trump rattled markets by threatening not to sign a long-awaited COVID-19 relief bill.
Both contracts fell nearly 2% on Tuesday, in a second straight session of declines, with Brent just managing to settle above $50 ahead of the release of the data from the American Petroleum Institute . "Rubbing salt in the oil market wounds today, oil prices lurched lower after yet another inventory build that was very much bearish to consensus," Axi chief market strategist Stephen Innes said in a note.
However, gasoline stocks fell by 224,000 barrels, against expectations for a build of 1.2 million barrels.