By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Oil was down Thursday morning in Asia, continuing its downward trends as the latest, official data confirmed a build in U.S. crude supplies.
Brent oil futures edged down 0.18% to $77.95 by 12:05 AM ET (4:05 AM GMT) and WTI futures inched down 0.03% to $74.81. Both Brent and WTI futures recorded small gains earlier in the session, however.
After two days of price losses, some investors could be looking for the next barrier to breach after Brent futures climbed above the $80 mark for the first time in around three years on Tuesday.
"$80 oil is not over-the-top high," StoneX analyst Joseph Perry told Reuters.
U.S. crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, released on Wednesday, showed a build of 4.578 million barrels in the week to Sep. 24. Forecasts prepared by Investing.com had predicted a draw of 1.652 million barrels, while a 3.481-million-barrel draw was recorded during the previous week.
Crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute, released the day before, showed a build of 4.127 million barrels.
The build comes as U.S. production returned more or less to their levels pre-Hurricane Ida, which hit the Gulf of Mexico area in late August 2021, with output rising to 11.1 million barrels per day last week.
On the production side, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) is widely expected to maintain a deal that adds 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to its output for November at its next meeting on Oct. 4.
In Asia Pacific, a growing power crisis and housing market concerns in China continue to be of concern to investors. Any economic fallout in the world’s biggest crude importer will impact fuel demand, according to analysts.