Oil Prices Slip as API Reports Large-than-expected Jump in U.S. Crude Inventories

Investing.com – Oil prices slipped on Wednesday, extending their rout from October after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a larger-than-expected build in .

for December delivery dropped 0.6% to $61.87 per barrel at 1:08 AM ET (05:08 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while for January 2019 delivery edged down 0.2% to $72.00 a barrel on London’s Intercontinental Exchange.

The API said U.S. crude stockpiles expanded by 7.83 million barrels last week, representing the biggest build in five weeks, compared with an average 2 million-barrel increase in a Bloomberg survey.

“If EIA (Energy Information Administration) confirms this build, it could certainly lead to further price weakness,” said Kyle Cooper, director of research at IAF Advisors. “This would mean that we haven’t found the bottom.”

Oil prices were under pressure this week after Washington re-imposed sanctions against Iran’s oil exports, but granted waivers to eight importers, including China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey, to allow them to continue buying from the Islamic Republic “temporarily.”

The U.S. midterm elections took centre stage in Asia as multiple networks including Fox, NBC, CNN, and FiveThirtyEight said the Democrats had won control of the House of Representatives, splitting Congress, as anticipated. The Republicans were expected to keep their majority in the Senate.

“If Congress is split, with the Democrats controlling the House and Republicans the Senate, the prospect of legislative gridlock that would make it difficult for policies such as the President’s middle-class tax cut to pass is negative for the U.S. dollar,” said Kathy Lien, managing director of currency strategy at BK Asset Management in a research note.

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