Investing.com - U.S. crude oil prices opened lower in Asia on Thursday despite industry data that showed stocks fell more than expected as oversupply at the global level weighed on sentiment.
The American Petroleum Institute estimated U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 6.7 million barrels last week, nearly triple the crude draw expected, and declined for a seventh week in a row, reports said. Gasoline stocks eased by 3.6 million barrels.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy will release its own more closely-watched figures.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for August delivery eased 0.27% to $47.58 a barrel after the data. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brent crude for September delivery ended down at 49.23 a barrel.
Overnight, crude futures bounced off near-six week lows on Wednesday, amid heavy short covering, as the long-term ramifications of a U.K. departure from the European Union and persistent oversupply concerns remained in focus.
U.S. and international benchmarks of crude suffered one of their worst sessions since February on Tuesday, following reports of supply increases in both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. The front month contract for crude is now trading near post-Brexit levels from late-June when it plunged nearly 8% during a massive two-day sell-off.
Energy traders continued to monitor developments in the U.K. after two additional commercial property firms froze their funds on Wednesday, citing exceptional liquidity pressures in the wake of the Brexit vote. It followed similar moves by M&G Property Portfolio, Aviva (LON:LON:AV) and Standard Life (LON:LON:SL) in recent days. The threat of a recession throughout the euro area could restrain demand for crude in the U.K. Continental Shelf (UKCS),
where approximately 590,000 barrels are pumped each day.
At the same time, crude prices remain under pressure from unrelenting worries regarding the massive supply glut on global energy markets.
In Tuesday's session, crude prices slid more than 4% after a Bloomberg survey showed that OPEC production increased by 240,000 bpd in June to 32.88 million bpd. For the month, production in Saudi Arabia surged 70,000 bpd to 10.33 million bpd, remaining near all-time highs. The production spike matched seasonal trends, amid demands for increased crude output in order to generate enough electricity to power air conditioners throughout the Kingdom.
In the U.S., data intelligence firm Genscape, Inc. reported an unexpected build of 230,026 barrels at the Cushing Oil Hub for the week ending on July 1. The mild increase defied expectations after U.S. crude production fell sharply a week earlier for the 22nd period in 23 weeks.