. Prices tumbled as rising U.S. inventories report

. Prices tumbled as rising U.S. inventories report


World oil prices fell on Wednesday (Thursday morning GMT ) , due to surprisingly large increase in U.S. oil product stocks raised expectations of abundant supply .

The benchmark U.S. light sweet crude or West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) for February delivery fell 1.34 dollars to end at 92.33 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange , AFP reported .

European benchmark , Brent crude for February delivery fell 20 cents to settle at 107.15 dollars a barrel in London trade .

Energy analysts assess the weekly U.S. oil inventory report on Wednesday as " bearish " , although the report showed a decline of 2.7 million barrels in crude inventories , much larger than the estimated 600,000 barrels .

But the Department of Energy (DoE ) said gasoline stocks rose by 6.2 million barrels , well above the consensus forecast up 2.0 million barrels of analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal .

Distillate stocks also exceeded forecasts and supply of crude oil trading hub Cushing, Oklahoma , rose 1.1 million barrels .

The buildup of crude in Cushing " puts a lot of pressure on the market , " said Carl Larry , president of consulting firm Oil outlooks and Opinions . The weak demand for gasoline and distillates also disappointing , said Larry .

Distillate inventories are expected to decrease in next week's report , due to heating demand is greater in the middle of severe cold weather in the U.S. .

Investors are starting to get " a little discomfort " in the supply - demand dynamics , said Dominick Chirichella , president of the Energy Management Institute .

Chirichella said the market was further weakened by expectations of more oil from Libya , where production back to 546,000 barrels per day from 250,000 barrels per day .

However , Chirichella mark that Libyan oil production outlook as stable .

On Wednesday , representatives of the local government declared Cyrenaica promised to resume oil exports , increasing conflict with the navy .

The local activists in Libya have challenged the central government for greater political power , including pemabian over oil revenues .