Oil falls as surprise U.S. stock build douses demand recovery hopes

• Oil prices fell on Thursday after U.S. industry data showed a surprise steep build in crude oil inventories, dampening hopes of a smooth recovery in demand as some countries ease coronavirus lockdowns.
• The decline in oil benchmarks extended losses on Wednesday over uncertainty about Russia’s commitment to deep output cuts ahead of a June 9 meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a grouping dubbed OPEC+.
• Brent crude futures were down 1.12%, or 39 cents at $34.35 per barrel, after dropping to as low as $33.62 in earlier trade. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.52%, or 50 cents, at $32.31 a barrel at 0945 GMT. The U.S. futures slipped earlier as much as 5% to a low of $31.14.

(Source: Reuters)