Oil falls on rise in U.S. crude stocks, virus resurgence fears

SEOUL, June 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated on
Wednesday, weighed down by an increase in U.S. crude inventories
and worries about a potential second wave of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were down 40 cents, or 1.0%, at
$40.56 a barrel as of 0047 GMT, while U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 59 cents, or 1.5%,
to $37.79 a barrel.
Both benchmarks rose over 3% in the previous session after
the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its 2020 oil demand
forecast to 91.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and U.S. retail
sales posted a record jump in May. However, the rise in U.S. crude and fuel inventories,
reported in post-settlement trade, stoked concerns over high
supplies and put downward pressure on oil prices.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.9 million barrels in
the week to June 12 to 543.2 million barrels, ahead of analysts'
expectations for a fall of 152,000 barrels, according to data
from industry group the American Petroleum Institute. API/S
Gasoline stocks rose by 4.3 million barrels and distillate
fuel stockpiles, including diesel fuel and heating oil, rose by
919,000 barrels.
Official data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy
Information Administration is due later on Wednesday.
Worries over a possible second virus wave also weighed on
prices, with the number of cases surpassing 8 million globally.

"It seems unavoidable there may be small spikes and isolated
outbreaks throughout the world. It may take time for the oil
market to desensitize, given the nascent recovery's fragility,"
said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at AxiCorp.
Meanwhile, an OPEC-led monitoring panel will meet on
Thursday to further discuss ways to strengthen and review
compliance with OPEC's commitment to curb oil production and
support prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, agreed to curtail
supplies by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd), about 10% of
pre-pandemic demand until end-July.