Brent crude traded below $99 per barrel today on continued concerns surrounding increasing supplies and weak worldwide demand.
Reuters reported that Brent crude declined 27 cents to $98.89 a barrel while US crude was down 21 cents to $92.54 a barrel.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) has revealed that US crude stocks declined 1.9 million barrels last week.
The gasoline stocks in the US unexpectedly increased 719,000 barrels and distillate stocks grew by 1.7 million barrels.
The US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration is due to unveil its data later today.
Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic have declined in the last two months due to increasing shale oil production in the US.
The move resulted in a supply glut in the Atlantic Basin and Asia, replacing imports from Europe, West Africa, and several other regions.
Global investors are now keenly watching the Gulf Arab oil ministers’ yearly meeting on Thursday in Kuwait, which could include talks about the prices of oil.
Meanwhile, the European Union has adopted new sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht urged the US to export oil and natural gas to Europe under a transatlantic trade agreement in order to reduce the region’s reliance on Russian energy resources.
Investors are also closely monitoring the increasing tension in South Sudan.
The Wall Street Journal reported that China has started the deployment of 700 soldiers to a UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan to protect oil fields and Chinese workers following a rebellion in the African country.
