Oil eases from 2019 highs ahead of U.S. inventory data

By  Trend

Oil prices eased off 2019 highs on Thursday ahead of U.S. government data that was expected to show a fifth weekly build in crude inventories, while concerns about slowing global economic growth weighed, Trend reports referring to Reuters.

Losses were capped by OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 17 cents to $56.99 a barrel by 10:26 a.m. EST (1526 GMT) after touching a 2019 high of $57.55 the previous day.

Brent crude futures rose 1 cent to $67.09 after touching a 2019 peak on Wednesday at $67.38.

U.S. crude stocks were forecast to rise 3.1 million barrels. Industry data released late Wednesday showed a 1.3 million-barrel build. Official oil inventory and production data is due at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT).

Oil prices have been driven up this year after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and producer allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to prevent a supply overhang from growing.