Investing.com - Crude oil prices fell in Asia on Wednesday as industry estimates of U.S. inventories were mixed, highlighting less than expected product demand for gasoline.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for October delivery fell 0.21% to $47.73 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent eased 0.23% to $51.75 a barrel.
U.S. crude oil stocks fell by 3.6 million barrels at the end of last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday, slightly more than expected.
The figures will be followed by official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. The API and EIA figures often diverge.
Gasoline stocks however rose by 1.4 million barrels and distillates gained 2.0 million barrels, both more than expected. Analysts expected a 3.375 million barrels draw in crude stocks, a 300,000 barrels decline in gasoline inventories and a 38,000 barrels build in distillates.
The supply hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, showed a draw of 460,000 barrels.
Overnight, crude futures settled higher on Tuesday, as traders looked ahead to the release of U.S. inventories data expected to show U.S. supplies of crude oil fell for an eighth-straight week.
Crude oil halted its slippery start to the week, as traders piled into oil futures on the back of expectations that weekly inventory data will show U.S. crude supplies continue to fall, easing the glut of excess supplies which have pressured prices for more than three years.
A fresh batch of U.S. crude inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday as well as a further report from EIA on Wednesday is expected to show supplies of crude oil fell the eighth-straight week.
Analysts forecast crude inventories fell by 3.5m barrels in the week ended Aug 18.
Gasoline inventories, however, are expected to be closely watched, as gasoline demand tends to ease, following the end of the U.S. ‘summer driving season’.
The rebound oil futures comes amid concerns over Opec’s ability to stem the glut in supply, after an Opec meeting on Monday failed to yield any tangible measures to address the group’s waning compliance with deal to curb output.
In May, Opec and non-Opec members agreed to extend production cuts for a period of nine months until March, but stuck to production cuts of 1.8 million bpd agreed in November last year.