Oil prices fall on U.S. crude stock build, Delta variant spread | Reuters

Oil prices fall on U.S. crude stock build, Delta variant spread | Reuters

Oil prices fell for a third day in a row to a two-week low on Wednesday on a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles and as the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant outweighed the impact of Mideast geopolitical tensions.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stockpiles rose 3.6 million barrels during the week ended July 30.

That compares with the 3.1-million barrel draw analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and the 0.9-million barrel decline the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday. ,

Brent futures fell $1.09, or 1.5%, to $71.32 a barrel by 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.43, or 2.0%, to $69.13.