Oil drops on bearish API report

Oil prices dropped in Asia after the American Petroleum Institute (API) data released overnight showed a large oil and gasoline inventory buildup in the US.

At the time of writing, WTI oil was down 62 cents or 1.17% at $52.36/barrel. Brent oil was down 18 cents or 0.33% at $55.13/barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) weekly report showed a large build of 4.68 million barrels in the United States’ crude inventory levels. The markets were expecting a draw of 1.5 million barrels.

The US inventory reports have become far more important now as the OPEC-led recovery in oil prices is at a risk of a rise in the Shale production.