Investing.com - Crude oil prices fell slightly in early Asia on Tuesday after industry estimates showed a major draw in crude stocks, but a build in gasoline in the midst of the normally high-demand summer driving season.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for September delivery eased 0.04% to $47.67 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brentslipped 0.02% at $50.96 a barrel.
Crude oil inventories dropped by 9.16 million barrels at the end of last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday, marking an 11th straight drawdown and more than expected on the week.
The figures, will be followed by official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. The figures often diverge widely. Analysts expected a 3.176 million drop in crude stocks in the U.S. last week, and a 1.527 million decline in gasoline inventories with distillate supplies down by 620,000 barrels.
However, gasoline supplies rose by 300,00 barrels, API estimated, and distillates fell 2.1 million barrels. The oil storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, saw a 1.71 million barrels gain.
Overnight, crude futures settled lower on Tuesday, as data showing weaker-than-expected oil demand in China continued to weigh on sentiment while concerns remained Opec may struggle to tackle the glut in supply, following a drop in compliance with the deal to curb production.
Crude futures started the session on the back foot falling to three-week lows, following data on Monday showing Chinese oil refineries in July operated at their slowest rates in nearly twelve months.
The downbeat data fuelled concerns that a glut of refined fuel products could lessen demand for oil from China, the world’s second-largest consumer, reducing the prospect of oil inventories falling below the five-year average.
Meanwhile, an announcement by the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) that it had lifted a force majeure on Bonny Light crude exports, also added to oversupply jitters.
An uptick in U.S. shale production, however, is expected to curb sentiment on oil prices, after the EIA said Monday it expected to see a climb in crude output from key U.S. shale regions of 117,000 barrels per day (bdp) in September to 6.149 million bpd.