Crude Continues Slide, Waiting For EIA Data

Oil prices have continued falling during today’s APAC trading after a 1.4% drop on Tuesday driven by a reported US crude stock build. Brent is down 0.7% to $82.31/bbl after a low of $82.15, and WTI -0.8% to $78.05 with a couple of brief breaks below $78. The USD index is little changed.

• Bloomberg reported that oil rose 2.5mn barrels and gasoline 2.1mn but there was a distillate drawdown of 300k, according to people familiar with the API data. The official EIA numbers are released later today but the market’s focus is on the June 1 OPEC+ meeting.
• OPEC has cut output by around 2mbd and while an extension into H2 is widely expected the details, such as how much and how long, remain unclear.
• Later the Fed’s Goolsbee appears and the May FOMC meeting minutes are published. There are US existing home sales and UK April CPI/PPI print. The BoE’s Breeden speaks.