NEW YORK: Oil prices were broadly level on Wednesday, after official numbers were released for US crude stockpile and signs the OPEC+ producer group is unlikely to change its output policy at a technical meeting next week Brent crude futures for May were down 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $86.02 a barrel by 1447 GMT while the more actively traded June contract was down 21 cents, or 0.3%, at $85.42. The May contract expires on Thursday.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery fell 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $81.49. Both benchmarks had fallen by more than $1 in earlier trading.
Prices have retreated since climbing last week to their highest levels since October and remain about 3% above the average closing price in the first week of March.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released data on Wednesday showing crude stocks were up 3.2 million barrels in the week ending March 22, versus an expected decline of 1.3 million barrels in a Reuters poll.
On Tuesday, market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures had said inventories rose by 9.3 million barrels in the same period. The comments on Tuesday and expectations for potential inaction by OPEC+ next week had earlier prompted “unwinding” in oil prices as profit-taking accelerates after the mid-March rally, said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, together known as OPEC+, are unlikely to make any oil output policy changes until a full ministerial gathering in June, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters ahead of next week’s meeting to review the market and members’ implementation of output cuts. OPEC+ this month agreed to extend output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to the end of June, though Russia and Iraq have had to go to extra lengths to tackle over-production.
Those struggles have called into question the group’s ability to comply with cuts, with OPEC having exceeded its targets by 190,000 bpd in February, a Reuters survey showed.
Traders are “watching OPEC members for any sign they may be altering their stance on production quotas,” ANZ analysts said in a report on Wednesday.
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