Oil drops as investors lock in gains; surprise U.S. stockpile build – Reuters

Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 09:24 (EEST) Section: Latest news

Crude futures fell on Wednesday as investors locked in gains after oil prices surged nearly 5% in the previous session, partly on forecasts from the U.S. government and OPEC that demand would increase next year, Reuters reported.
Oil prices were also under pressure from industry data that showed a surprise build in U.S. crude stocks, price gains in other commodities including gold and a stronger U.S. dollar which gained against a basket of currencies, Reuters wrote referring to analysts.
Brent futures LCOc1 fell 37 cents to $48.10 a barrel as of 0339 GMT after settling up $2.22, or 4.8%, in the previous session.
U.S. crude CLc1 dropped 28 cents to $46.52 a barrel after ending the previous session up $2.06, or 4.6%, according to the report. 
”We do see a bit of counter-cyclical trade going on in the Asia time zone. Gold is a little higher, equity markets are strong, but not as strong previously, the dollar is up,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at Sydney`s CMC Markets.
”The market is concerned about the momentum in oil prices and whether that will be maintained or not,” Spooner added.
The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday said U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels in the week to July 8 to 523.1 million barrels, compared with analysts` expectations for a decrease of 3 million barrels.
The U.S. Department of Energy`s Energy Information Administration will release official weekly inventory data later on Wednesday.