Crude Oil Futures Fall Lower on Thursday as Inventory Supply Hits Record

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Oil prices dived lower for a third consecutive session on Thursday after government data revealed that domestic crude inventories hit a record and production gained momentum last week, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

“The all-time high crude stockpile levels in the U.S. is the number one reason” behind oil’s recent inability to climb, said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.22, or 2.3%, to settle at $52.61 a barrel, marking its lowest since February 8.

On the London ICE Futures Exchange, May Brent crude, the global benchmark, lost $1.28, or 2.3%, to end trading at $55.08 a barrel.

U.S. crude inventories rose to a historical high last week, increasing by 1.5 million barrels to 520.2 million barrels, according to data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Output from Saudi Arabia fell by 90,000 barrels a day to 9.78 million barrels in February from a month earlier—below the country’s target of 10.06 million, according to a Bloomberg survey.

In recent months, burgeoning U.S. crude output has largely offset the continuing production cuts by OPEC and Russia.

“U.S. oil inventories hit a record high, but OPEC and non-OPEC compliance cuts are at a record high as well,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. “The conflicting factors are keeping oil in a tight, sideways trading range that seems like it has been going on forever.”

Since the start of the year, WTI prices have traded between $50 to $55 a barrel.

Back on the New York Mercantile Exchange, April natural gas tacked on half a cent, or less than 0.2%, to settle at $2.804 per million British thermal units.