Oil slips as demand worries outweigh U.S. stocks draw - Reuters

Oil slips as demand worries outweigh U.S. stocks draw - Reuters:

Oil prices eased on Wednesday on concerns that U.S. fuel demand may not recover as quickly as expected amid stalled talks on an economic stimulus package, overshadowing a bigger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stocks.

With investors keeping an eye on a key producer countries’ ministerial meeting later in the day, Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 40 cents, or 0.9%, to $45.06 a barrel by 0701 GMT, having edged up 9 cents on Tuesday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were down 34 cents, or 0.8%, at $42.55 a barrel, having ended unchanged the previous day.

“Demand concerns weighed on oil prices, with U.S. economic stimulus still nowhere in sight and U.S.-Sino trade talks being postponed,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.