Oil falls on rising US stockpiles

Brent crude oil futures fell toward $64 on Wednesday, trimming the prior session’s gains as another inventory build outweighed concerns over potential fallout from Russia-related sanctions.

The API reported that US crude inventories rose by 4.4 million barrels last week, the third consecutive increase, and a level that, if confirmed, would be the highest in more than five months.

The data added to concerns that global supply will outpace demand, with the IEA forecasting a record surplus next year.

In a sign of swelling supply, crude on tankers climbed to nearly 1.4 billion barrels last week, either en route to buyers or in floating storage, according to Vortexa.

Limiting losses, US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are set to take effect within days. In anticipation, major Asian buyers, including China, India, and Turkey, have paused some purchases, while Europe’s diesel market has strengthened.

WTI crude oil futures fell toward $60 on Wednesday, losing the prior session’s gains.