Oil prices eased on Thursday after resilient US economic activity suggested borrowing costs would remain high for longer and this would worsen supply demand rates.
Ahead of US crude oil stock data to be released later today, Brent crude fell 26 cents (0.3%) to 83.34% per barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 23 cents (0.3%) to $79.00 per barrel.
Both benchmarks are headed for monthly losses with Brent down 5% and WTI down 3% since last month.
According to IG Market Strategist, Yeao Jun Rong said the broader de-risking environment has reflected some pressure on oil prices and this will offset the larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude inventories.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported US crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week and refining activity increased.
Data showed crude oil stocks fell by 6.49 million barrels at the end of May. Gasoline inventories fell by 452,000 barrels and distillates rose by 2.045 million barrels.
Analysts forecast US energy firms will pull 1.9 million barrels of crude from storage, store 0.4 million barrels of distillates and 1 million barrels of gasoline.
Market participants are now awaiting data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) which will be published later this Thursday.
Global oil inventories that increased until last April were due to weak fuel demand and this will further strengthen the determination by OPEC+ producers including Russia who want to maintain supply cuts ahead of the June 2 meeting.
