Oil Dips as Global Glut Offsets U.S. Crude Draw Forecast
Oil prices dipped on Tuesday in choppy trade as forecasts for a weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories were countered by worries of a stubborn global petroleum glut.
Speculation on a potential meeting on market cooperation between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers also fizzled after disinterest shown by non-OPEC member and top oil exporter Russia, traders said.
Brent crude was down 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $45.20 a barrel by 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 GMT).
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped by 5 cents to $42.97 percent per barrel.
The U.S. government is expected to report on Wednesday a 1.0 million-barrel crude stockpile drawdown for the week ended Aug. 5, after unexpected rises in two prior weeks, analysts polled by Reuters said.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group, will issue its own report on U.S. petroleum stockpiles after Tuesday's market settlement, at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT).
The forecast U.S. draw aside, analysts and traders have mostly cautioned of a glut building in both crude and refined oil products this summer, with U.S. gasoline demand particularly lagging supply despite the peak season for driving in the United States. OPEC's biggest producers have also been pumping near record high levels.
(By Barani Krishnan, Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in LONDON and Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO)
