New York, US (BBN) – Oil prices dipped slightly in Asia on Wednesday with the market shrugging off a much larger than expected build in US inventories reported by an industry group.
On the Intercontinental Exchange in London, Brent for April delivery fell 0.13 per cent to $55.77 a barrel, reports Investing.com.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in March eased 0.43 per cent to $52.970.
Crude oil inventories jumped 9.94 million barrels the end of last week, more than expected, according to estimates from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday.
Gasoline stocks rose 720,000 barrels and distillate stocks increased by 1.5 million barrels.
Supplies at the Cushing oil hub fell by 1.3 million barrels.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due on Wednesday.
A poll of analyst sees crude oil inventories up 3.175 million barrels, while distillates and gasoline supplies are each seen down by 1.15 million barrels.
Overnight, crude settled higher in the US on Tuesday ahead of the API estimates.
BBN/SK/AD