Forexpros – Crude oil futures fell in Asian trading on Thursday after U.S. stockpiles rose more than expected in the previous week.
Slumping U.S. housing data pushed the commodity lower as well.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD88.69 a barrel on Thursday, down 0.31%, off from a session high of USD88.80 and up from an earlier session low of USD88.64.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 2.71 million barrels in the week ended July 20, beating out market calls for a decline of 650,000 barrels.
U.S. crude supplies fell by 809,000 million barrels in the preceding week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 380.1 million barrels as of last week.
Total motor gasoline inventories rose by 4.13 million barrels, well above expectations for a decline of 630,000 million barrels, after falling by 1.82 million barrels in the preceding week.
U.S. housing data was also bearish for crude.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new home sales fell by 8.4% to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 units in June, worse than expectations for a decline of 2.6% to 372,000.
New home sales for May were revised up to 382,000 units from a previously reported 369,000.
Rising stockpiles and weaker-than-expected homes sales fueled sentiment that U.S. recovery remains tepid and in less need for fuels and energy to grow.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery were down 0.28% and trading at USD104.16 a barrel, up USD15.47 from its U.S. counterpart.
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