Oil Trades Near $49 on Signs U.S. Stockpiles Unexpectedly Rose

Futures slid as much as 1.2 percent in New York after losing 2 percent Tuesday, the first drop in seven sessions. Inventories rose by 1.78 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. A Bloomberg survey showed nationwide stockpiles fell for a fifth week. OPEC output climbed in July as Libya boosted supply, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts, oil companies and ship-tracking data.

“Prices are under pressure as the recent gains are seen as unsustainable,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “The API is contributing to the overall situation, and should the DOE data confirm the trend, it’s likely to weigh on prices,” he said, referring to the U.S. Department of Energy figures due for release on Wednesday.

West Texas Intermediate for September delivery dropped as much as 61 cents to $48.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $49.02 at 10:39 a.m. in London. Total volume traded was about 28 percent above the 100-day average. The contract lost $1.01 to $49.16 on Tuesday.

Brent for October settlement was 8 cents lower at $51.70 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices fell 94 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $51.78 on Tuesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.53 to October-delivery WTI.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles declined by 4.83 million barrels last week, the API said, according to people familiar with the data. Nationwide crude inventories probably fell by 3.1 million barrels, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
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