Oil futures lower after API data show big increase in US crude stocks

Investing.com -- U.S. crude oil futures were lower in post-settlement trading Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported a much larger-than-expected increase in weekly domestic crude stocks amid weather-related disruptions to U.S. energy infrastructure.

Crude Oil WTI Futures , the U.S. benchmark, recently traded at $73.91 a barrel following the report after settling down 4.6% at $73.57 a barrel.

Oil prices were heavily pressured by easing concerns somewhat about wider Middle East conflict amid reports that Hezbollah is seeking a ceasefire with Israel.

U.S. crude inventories increased by about 10.9 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 4, compared with a draw of 1.46M barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting a build of about 1.9M barrels.

Gasoline stockpiles fell by about 557,000 barrels, while distillate inventories -- the class of fuels that includes diesel and heating oil -- declined by 2.59M barrels.

The official government inventory report is due Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).

Source: Investing.com