Oil prices were seen trading lower on Tuesday as the North American WTI crude dropped for the first time in three days on forecasts that crude stockpiles climbed for the tenth week in the US, the biggest oil user in the world.
WTI for May delivery lost 34 cents to $99.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at the time of writing. While Brent crude for May settlement edged 19 cents lower to $106.62 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $7.16 to WTI.
Crude stockpiles in the US most likely added 2.5 million barrels in the last week, according to analysts forecast before the Energy Information Administration report due on Wednesday.
US fuel supplies climbed to 375.9 million barrels in the week ending March 14, the highest since November, according to reports from the EIA. While refinery units are closed for maintenance in winter and will reopen in the spring to meet the demand for gasoline.
Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, is expected to show a drop by 1.1 million, according to analysts, while gasoline stockpiles is forecasted to have slid by 1.7 million barrels last week.
A separate stockpile report is expected to be released by the American Petroleum Institute later in the day.
Meanwhile, the closure of the Houston Ship Channel is expected to weigh on crude prices. There are 140 vessels waiting to go through the Houston Ship Channel, according to the Coast Guard.
On Monday, the Western nations, including the US and the European Union met in Hague and imposed tougher sanctions against Russia, as Russia is expected to be excluded from the G8 if the ongoing tensions do not ease.
Russia is increasing its military along the border with Ukraine, which may signal further territorial changes within the region.
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