U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 60 cents at $42.70 a barrel, also the lowest in almost six weeks.
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Expectations from analysts polled by Reuters were for an inventory build of 2.3 million barrels, while S&P Global Platts estimated stockpiles had gone up by 2.8 million barrels.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other top producers will hold informal talks on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria next week. The October contract expired yesterday at US$43.44 a barrel and the front-month has now rolled over to November delivery.
Oil Investor T. Boone Pickens believes the price of oil will rise to a range of $55 to $60 a barrel by the end of the year, he said in an interview with Reuters on Monday. The API also reported a 2.5 million barrel draw in gasoline stocks.
Prices jumped after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) stunned the market when it said crude inventories fell 6.2 million barrels last week.
Oil was also supported by an industry strike in Norway that threatened to cut North Sea crude output and a weaker dollar ahead of a Federal Reserve policy announcement at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), where the central bank was expected to keep USA interest rates unchanged. He previously said discussions in Algiers would be consultations and no major decisions would be made during talks with OPEC and non-OPEC producers.
Japan’s customs-cleared crude imports rose 0.5% in August from the previous August, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.
However, many traders and analysts say longstanding political tensions among the OPEC members could hinder progress.
Analysts say OPEC countries are highly unlikely to reach any agreement in Algeria, but the negotiations will slightly help the market. OPEC must reach an equitable agreement that all its members support, and any accord must also satisfy non-OPEC producers, he said.
“Even with a freeze – which would still mean OPEC production is at record levels – we will still be in an oversupplied market”, he said.
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Analysts polled by Reuters expect the EIA to announce that United States crude stockpiles, already at record high levels for this time of year, likely rose 3.4 million barrels last week.
