Oil renews decline as US inventories expand, delta spreads

  • Date: 21-Jul-2021
  • Source: Gulf Business
  • Sector:Oil & Gas
  • Country:Gulf
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Oil renews decline as US inventories expand, delta spreads

Oil fell after a surprise build in US stockpiles and as investors weighed the impact on demand from the rapid spread of the delta variant. West Texas Intermediate retreated 0.4 per cent, resuming declines after an advance on Tuesday. The American Petroleum Institute was said to report an 806,000 barrel gain in US crude inventories, according to people familiar with the figures. The climb would be first since May, if it is confirmed by the Energy Information Administration later on Wednesday. Ahead of that official release, a Bloomberg survey showed that market watchers expect another drop. Crude has been thrown into retreat since hitting the highest since 2014 earlier this month as the delta variant surged in parts of Asia, and spread in the US and Europe. That challenge has coincided with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies patching up a row with a pact to boost production from August. Among banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has warned oil will will "gyrate," and pushed back forecasts for a rally to $80 a barrel. The latest twist in the coronavirus pandemic has seen the delta variant now account for 83 per cent of all sequenced cases in the