They forecast a 2.5-million barrel draw in crude stocks and a 1.2-million barrel fall in gasoline inventories.
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Brent for September settlement fell $1.40, or 2.8 percent to $48.70 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Crude oil prices slid more than 4% today as investors anxious that Britain’s exit from the European Union would slow the global economy, and as data showed a build in stockpiles at the delivery point for USA crude futures. In New York, the West Texas Intermediate contract for August delivery lost 4.9 per cent to US$46.60 a barrel. It earlier hit a two-month low at US$44.87.
Investors also awaited data on United States crude inventories, delayed due to Monday’s Independence Day holiday.
“Oil did find support overnight, though it looks poised for more downside today, given reports of an impending uptick in OPEC production”, said analysts at Accendo Market, in a note.
Brent crude closed near $US50 a barrel as Nigerian output rose last month following repairs to some infrastructure that had been damaged by militant attacks.
But the East Coast is the pricing point for US gasoline futures which call for delivery to New York Harbor. The effect, however, got negated as a recent survey conducted by Bloomberg showed that OPEC output rose by 240,000 barrels a day in June to 32.88 million.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) releases its data a day later than normal on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), while data from the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is delayed to Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT).
“After some days of declines in oil prices, USA economic data and huge draws in oil inventories sent prices back upwards”, said Michael Poulsen, oil analyst at Global Risk Management. The rebound was fueled by supply outages from Canada to Nigeria that created the perception that a two-year-old supply glut may be easing.
JPMorgan said in its latest oil market outlook that “macro-economic risks may weigh on oil prices”, although the US bank added that oil prices would still likely rise between this year and the next as stocks are drawn down, and political risk and maturing oil fields tighten the market.
Analysts also pointed to a lower U.S. dollar.
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“Rebels from the Niger Delta Avengers made renewed attacks on oil facilities at the weekend, meaning that hopes of any prolonged ceasefire have proven illusory”, said analysts at Commerzbank.
