Oil prices tread water as big US inventory build offsets supply concerns

Investing.com-- Oil prices moved little in Asian trade on Thursday, as signs of another outsized build in U.S. inventories offset bets on tightening global supplies due to disruptions in the Middle East. 

Crude prices saw wild swings this week as markets grappled with fears of worsening demand and potential supply disruptions from a continued conflict in the Middle East, as the Israel-Hamas war showed little signs of deescalation. 

While they still settled marginally higher on Wednesday, a two-week recovery rally in crude now appeared to have largely run out of steam. Signs of bloated U.S. supplies further quashed any major gains in crude, amid growing expectations that record-high U.S. production will largely offset any supply shortfalls from the Middle East.

Brent oil futures expiring in April were flat at $83.05 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.1% to $77.38 a barrel by 21:38 ET (02:38 GMT).

US inventories see another week of outsized builds- API data

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. inventories grew by 7.2 million barrels in the week to February 16, much more than expectations for a build of 4.3 million barrels. 

While the build was smaller than the 8.5 million barrel build reported by the API for the prior week, it was a third straight week of builds in U.S. inventories, and signaled that the world’s largest fuel consumer remained well-supplied.

Higher inventories are also likely to keep supplies strong as a swathe of refineries resume production in the coming days.

The API data usually heralds a similar reading from official inventory data, which is due later on Thursday. The data is also expected to show U.S. production remaining at record highs of over 13 million barrels per day.

Weak PMIs, Fed jitters dampen demand outlook 

Traders remained on edge over sluggish demand, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s late-January meeting showed the central bank was in no hurry to begin cutting interest rates. 

A chorus of Fed officials also reiterated the bank’s stance this week, citing concerns over sticky inflation. Higher rates stymie economic activity, which in turn dents oil demand. 

Focus was now on a string of key purchasing managers index (PMI) readings from major economies, due on Thursday, for more cues on global economic health.

Readings from the euro zone and the U.S. are due later on Thursday, and come after PMIs from Japan and Australia, released earlier on Thursday, largely underwhelmed.