SINGAPORE: Oil prices sank for a sixth straight session Thursday in Asia, tracking a sell-off across equities with an expected pick-up in output adding to worries about the global economy and a weaker-than-forecast fall in US stockpiles.
The Department of Energy said commercial inventories fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ending June 10, far fewer than the 2.33 million predicted in a Bloomberg survey, suggesting demand is easing in the world’s top oil consumer.
The news sent the commodity tumbling and at about 0320 GMT on Thursday in Asia US benchmark West Texas Intermediate slipped 46 cents, or 0.96 percent, to $47.55 while Brent shed 34 cents, or 0.69 percent, to $48.63.
After almost doubling between February and last week, WTI has plunged eight percent from an 11-month high, while Brent has lost more than six percent from an eight-month peak.
Supply-side fears have increased, with Canada’s output likely to normalise as wildfires that hit its oil region subside while Nigerian rebels, who have been attacking crude installations, consider peace talks with the government.
“We still, when you think about it, have a surplus of supply because it has really only been disruptions that have seen that surplus disappear,” David Lennox, an analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.
