Oil Retreats as Surprise Jump in U.S. Stockpiles Hints at Glut

  • American crude inventories expand by most in six weeks: EIA
  • WTI drops for second day, but gasoline draw eases demand fears
Crude oil storage tanks stand at the oil refinery operated by Saudi Aramco in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia.Photographer: Simon Dawson
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Oil retreated for the second day in a row after U.S. crude stockpiles ballooned, casting a shadow over OPEC’s efforts to avert a global glut.

Futures in New York closed 0.6 percent lower on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said domestic oil inventories grew by 7.07 million barrelsBloomberg Terminal, exceeding every estimateBloomberg Terminal in a Bloomberg survey. A larger-than-expected draw-down in refined products eased some fears about demand but wasn’t enough to bolster the market.