By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - U.S. oil stockpiles rose last week adding to concerns about the outlook for demand at a time when fresh lockdowns in Europe threaten global growth.
U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, after a draw of 1 million barrels the previous week. Gasoline inventories declined by about 3.7 million, compared with a 930,000 draw in the prior week, while distillate stocks rising by about 246,000 barrels.
Crude Oil WTI Futures, the U.S. benchmark for oil fell $4.18 a barrel on the news after settling down $3.8 at $57.76 a barrel.
"Crude oil prices continue to weaken on the charts- watch for $50-55 to potentially provide support if selling pressures escalate further," Janney Montgomery Scott said in a note.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies decreased by about 272,200 million barrels last week.