Oil Prices Fall by More Than 1% and US Stocks Are Fueling Fears of a Supply Glut

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a sudden increase in US crude stocks stoked fears of a global supply glut, and the rise in COVID-19 cases exacerbated concerns about a slow recovery in fuel demand.

Brent crude futures for December delivery were at 42.70 dollars a barrel, down 46 cents, or 1.1%, by 0730 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell 43 cents, the equivalent of 1%, to $ 41.27. The two decades had gone up in the previous session.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed that crude oil inventories in the United States rose 584,000 barrels in the week to October 16, to 490.6 million barrels, while analysts in a Reuters poll expected a decrease of 1 million barrels.

And the pressure increased, with HIV cases exceeding 40 million worldwide on Tuesday, with the renewal of general isolation measures in some areas in Europe.

On the supply side, the Russian Energy Minister said yesterday that it is too early to discuss the future of global oil production after December, less than a week after announcing that plans to ease current production restrictions should go ahead.