Oil prices down amid growing US stockpiles

World oil prices are dropping on Feb.8, following the report released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) about a significant growth in the US crude stockpiles.

The price of April futures for Brent crude oil fell by 0.54 percent to $54.75 per barrel as of 02:33 EST. Meanwhile, the price of March futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil has decreased by 0.90 percent and stood at $51.70 per barrel.

The commercial crude stocks in the US (excluding the strategic reserve) have increased by 14.2 million barrels to 503.6 million barrels over the week ending Feb.3, according to API. Analysts expected this figure to rise only by 2.5 million barrels.

Moreover, gasoline stocks in the US have increased by 2.9 million barrels, according to API. This is while analysts expected this figure to rise only by 1.1 million barrels. (trend.az)