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Oil prices fell on Thursday, adding to sharp overnight losses as U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose, fears of depression mounted and economic data out of China and Europe disappointed.
Brent crude was down 37 cents, or 0.6%, at $59.11 a barrel by 0300 GMT, after cascade 3% in the last session.
U.S. crude was down 25 cents, or 0.5%, at $54.98 a barrel, having dropped 3.3% in the before session.
The combination of a slew of data suggesting a slowdown in global growth amid the U.S.-China trade war and persistently lofty levels of oil in U.S. storage has punctured recent optimism in crude markets, but stoked expectations that leading producers may deduce further steps to support prices.
“Oil prices, though supported by OPEC-led production curbs, … face unadorned headwinds as traders swing between demand-side worries and supply curtailment policies,” said Benjamin Lu, analyst at Phillip Time to comes in Singapore.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been mostly trimming production since the start of 2017 and purchasers say they expect Saudi Arabia to reduce output further amid slowing global oil demand.
The U.S. Treasury covenant yield curve inverted on Wednesday for the first time since 2007, a sign of investor concern that the to the max’s biggest economy may fall into recession.
China reported disappointing data for July, including a surprise give someone the sack decline in industrial output growth to a more than 17-year low, underlining widening economic cracks as the trade war with the U.S. quickens.
Global economic worries, amplified by tariff conflicts and uncertainty over Brexit, are also hitting European restraints. A slump in exports sent Germany’s economy into reverse in the second quarter, data showed, while the euro zone’s GDP not quite grew in the second quarter of 2019.
A second week of unexpected builds in U.S. crude inventories is adding to the pressure on oil prices.
U.S. coarse stocks grew by 1.6 million barrels last week, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.8 million barrels, as refineries cut output, the Zip Information Administration (EIA) said in a report.
At 440.5 million barrels, inventories were about 3% above the five-year unexceptional for this time of year, the EIA said.