Oil Prices Edge Lower As Supply Concerns Ease

(RTTNews) - Oil prices traded lower on Wednesday after industry data showed an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventories and reports emerged that Saudi Arabia is offering more crude oil to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfer off Oman's Sohar port.

Brent crude futures slipped 0.8 percent to $107.89 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 1.2 percent at $104.52.

Both contracts settled up more than $3 a barrel at their highest levels since May 19 on Tuesday amid expectations of a prolonged disruption of Saudi Arabian oil flows to its Red Sea coast following last week's drone attack on its east-west pipeline.

Concerns over global oil supplies intensified after Saudi Arabia suspended Yanbu oil loadings and cancelled some cargo deliveries to European customers.

Profit booking is seen at higher levels after U.S. crude oil inventories registered a strong build last week, defying analyst expectations for a drawdown.

U.S. crude oil inventories surged by 7.1 million barrels in the week ending 11 September following a 300,000-bbl decline in the previous week, according to estimates from the American Petroleum Institute.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration is due to be released later today.

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes via Oman, helping ease concerns about the scale of Middle East supply disruptions.

The workaround aims to bypass infrastructure damage caused by recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's key oil pipeline to the Red Sea.