Oil at multi-week lows on US inventory data, Brexit woes

Oil benchmarks on both sides of Atlantic fell for the sixth consecutive session this Thursday on smaller-than expected drop in the US crude reserves and on mounting Brexit concerns, which curbed appetite for risky assets.

Oil fails to benefit from lower USD post-FOMC

Currently, both crude benchmarks are down nearly 0.90% to three-week lows, with Brent near 48.50 barrier, while WTI flirts with 47.50 levels. Oil prices keep falling as lingering Brexit fears dampens investors’ sentiment and therefore, weighs on the demand for the black gold.

Adding to the downward pressure on oil, the EIA weekly inventory report published yesterday showed that the US crude stocks slipped by 933,000 barrels over the week to June 10, markets had predicted a fall of about 2.16 million barrels. The report also showed that US crude oil output fell by 29,000 barrels to 8.716 million barrels per day, the lowest level since early September 2014.

However, the downside remains cushioned amid broad based US dollar weakness after the Fed kept rates-on hold this month, with the bank still on track to raise two rate hikes this year amid softer economic outlook.