Oil Prices Drop After Surprise U.S. Crude Inventory Increase

Oil prices declined in early Asian trade on September 24 following a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. Data released by the Energy Information Administration revealed that commercial crude oil stocks, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 3 million barrels for the week ending September 18.

This increase contradicted analyst expectations, which had predicted a 500,000-barrel decrease. As a result, front-month Brent crude-oil futures fell 0.8% to $102.29 a barrel, and front-month WTI dropped 0.6% to $91.64 a barrel.

Brent crude had previously recovered to levels above $100 per barrel as market hopes for a near-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz diminished. However, the unexpected inventory build capped further gains for the commodity.