Crude prices fell back on Wednesday due to weak Chinese manufacturing stats, and amid hopes that Libya’s supply disruptions may finally be coming to an end.
In London trading, Brent Crude futures were down 90 cents to US$104.65 per barrel, whilst West Texas Intermediary futures fell around 45 cents to US$99.30.
A rally in oil prices could follow today’s report from the US Department of Energy, if its stockpile figures follow the same trend as the American Petroleum Institute (API) data.
Last night’s inventory from the API showed a 5.8mln barrel decline, versus expectations of a 1.1mln barrel build.
They had been expected to show a 2.5mln increase in the surplus.
Elsewhere in the oil market, with news that’s likely to please some environmentalists, small-cap North American explorer Rango Energy today said it would quit the energy business, instead it will get into medical marijuana.
It will be re-named Verde Science – or ‘green science’ to the lay man – and will aim to “produce a continual supply of the highest quality product” to satisfy apparently un-met market demand in southern California.