Oil prices down with expectation of US crude build-up

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Crude oil prices were down on Wednesday with the expectation of another increase in US crude inventories.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $30.71 per barrel at 0617 GMT for a 0.84% loss after it closed Tuesday at $30.97 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $24.24 a barrel at the same time for a 1.3% decline after ending the previous day at $24.56 per barrel.

Crude oil inventories in the US are expected to increase by 8.44 million barrels for the week ending May 1, according to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) estimate on Tuesday.

The official weekly change in US crude stocks will be released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.

While crude storage capacity in the US is nearly full, investors are hoping that production cuts by the 23-member OPEC+ group will trim some of the glut of supply in the market and lift prices up.

On Tuesday, Brent crude jumped 13.8% and WTI soared 20.4% with some normalization steps taken in Asian and European countries to ease COVID-19 restrictions, the consequences of which investors see as increasing global oil demand.