Oil prices drop on soaring US inventories and slowing demand

London — Oil prices dropped on Thursday, extending falls from the previous session amid surging US crude inventories as ample supply and weak refinery data weighed on demand.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $70.40 a barrel at 8.57am GMT, down 59c from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down by 43c at $60.99 a barrel, after falling 2.5% the previous day.

Brent is set for its biggest weekly fall in 12 weeks and WTI in 15 weeks. 

US crude oil inventories rose last week, hitting their highest levels since July 2017, the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Industry data had also shown a surge in US crude stockpiles. Commercial US crude inventories rose by 4.7-million barrels in the week ended May 17, to 476.8-million barrels, the EIA data showed.

“The headlines figures are depressing enough and scratching the surface does not paint a rosier picture either,” PVM’s Tamas Varga said in a note. “The prevalent optimism for a tighter global market and higher oil prices will now only be vindicated when US oil inventories start drawing.”

Beyond weak refinery demand for feedstock crude oil, the increase also came on the back of planned sales of US strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) into the commercial market.