Oil falls as U.S. inventories rise but demand hopes stem bigger drop - Reuters

Oil falls as U.S. inventories rise but demand hopes stem bigger drop - Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. industry data showed a surprise build up in crude inventories but losses were kept in check by expectations for an uptick in demand next year on the back of progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade row.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped 41 cents, or 0.6%, to $65.69 a barrel by 0940 GMT on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell 52 cents, or 0.9%, to $60.42 per barrel.

Prices had risen more than 1% in the previous session after the announcement last week of the so-called Phase One of a U.S.-China trade deal, which lifted global economic prospects and improved the outlook for energy demand.

“The sizzling oil market rally came to a grinding halt after an unexpected climb in the weekly U.S. crude inventory report,” said Stephen Innes, market strategist at AxiTrader, although he said figures for stocks were “unlikely to be a game-changer.”