On Wednesday, oil futures continued the fall from the previous session as a report said the US crude oil stockpiles were surprisingly higher than expected, raising fears of a supply glut.
By 00.45 GMT, Brent crude oil futures edged down by 2 cents to USD42.6/barrel while US WTI inched down by 0.1% or 4 cents to USD40.33/barrel.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that for the week ended June 19, US crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose higher by 1.7 million bpd. Analysts only expected 300,000 barrels of increase.
However, the fall was kept light by the fall in the gasoline and distillate inventories, signaling that fuel demand is still picking up amidst the reopening economies in most regions after the coronavirus-related lockdowns.
The global commitment of most major oil producers in OPEC+ to cut output, along with the drop in the US oil rig counts also have supported prices.
Going forward, some analysts found that the market is still concerned about the rising coronavirus infections in the US and elsewhere around the world.
In China, refiners also estimated to slow crude imports in the third quarter after purchasing a record amount in recent months. They worry about higher oil prices and the second virus outbreak.
