Oil prices pushed down by US stockpile data

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TOPSHOT - People battle a blaze next to an oil well in an agricultural field in the town of al-Qahtaniyah, in the Hasakeh province near the Syrian-Turkish border on June 10, 2019. - Fires have erupted in various parts of Syria in recent weeks, with all sides blaming each other for starting them. In the Kurdish-run breadbasket province of Hasakeh, of which Al-Qahtaniya is part, IS has claimed several arson attacks on wheat fields. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Oil prices dropped nearly three per cent this morning as news emerged that US stockpiles rose last week.

International standard Brent crude fell 2.6 per cent to $60.72 at around 11.15am today. Meanwhile, US standard was down 2.8 per cent to $51.79.

Oil inventories in the States grew by 4.9m barrels last week. Analysts had predicted they would fall by nearly half a million.

“Crude oil prices are falling this morning as a report from the American Petroleum Institute reported that the US crude stockpiles increased,” said analysts at Deutsche Bank.

It came as US officials cut their forecasts for global demand in 2019.

Oil producing cartel Opec slashed output earlier this year in a bid to counter downwards pressure on the market by a glut of US crude.

The organisation is set to meet again at the end of the month to decide on whether to extend the cuts.

Goldman Sachs said it looks likely that the cuts will be extended.

“We expect such an outcome to only be modestly supportive of prices with our third-quarter Brent forecast at $65.5 per barrel,” its analysts said.