Oil Snaps Four-Day Gain as U.S. Stockpiles Rise Amid Trade Hopes - Bloomberg

Oil Snaps Four-Day Gain as U.S. Stockpiles Rise Amid Trade Hopes - Bloomberg:

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell 63 cents, or 1.1%, to $56.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:44 a.m. London time. The contract surged $2.17 to settle at $57.10 on Tuesday, the biggest advance since July 10.

Brent for October settlement decreased 48 cents, or 0.8%, to $60.82 on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The contract closed 4.7% higher Tuesday, the largest gain since Dec. 26. The global benchmark crude traded at a $4.36 premium to WTI for the same month.

U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 2, climbing from the lowest level since November for the first gain in eight weeks. The median estimate in the Bloomberg survey forecasts the Energy Information Administration will report a decline of 2.5 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 9, with 11 of the 13 analysts forecasting a drop.