Oil prices dipped on Thursday, after sharp gains in the previous session, weighed down by a surprise increase in U.S. crude oil inventories and expectations that OPEC and other producers could decide to increase output at a meeting in June.
The overnight increase came despite the possibility of rising supplies from OPEC and Russia, and some analysts see market fundamentals as supportive. “Though crude oil has receded significantly in the charts, market fundamentals remain supportive as robust global demand and declining stockpiles bolster prices upwards,” Benjamin Lu, commodities analyst at Singapore-based broker Phillip Futures, said in a note.
Brent crude was down 19 cents at $77.31 per barrel at 0508 GMT, after settling the last session up 2.8 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 4 cents at $68.17 a barrel. In the previous session, it settled up $1.48, or 2.2 percent, at $68.21 per barrel.
Global inventories have been broadly falling, but U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 1 million barrels in the week to May 25 to 434.9 million barrels.
