By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - U.S. crude stockpiles fell by less than expected last week, keeping worries about demand front and center just as China appetite for oil appears to be slowing amid rising Covid-19 cases.
West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark fell 66 cents to $66.41 a barrel on the news, after settling down 70 cents to $66.59 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories decreased by about 1.16 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 13. That compared with a draw of 816,000 barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting a draw of about 1.3 million barrels.
China, the world’s largest energy consumer, reported that daily crude processing in July fell to its lowest level in nearly 15 months, exacerbating investor concerns that demand is on the backfoot and will be dealt a further blow by travel restrictions brought on by rising Covid-19 cases.
The API also showed that gasoline inventories declined by about 1.2 million last week, compared with a 1.1 million draw in the prior week, and distillate stocks increased by about 502,000 barrels.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies declined by about 1.1 million barrels last week.