He added that as the United States is approaching the summer driving season, "the build in gasoline points to the fact demand isn't as strong as we expected".
USA crude futures settled down $1.97 to $50.44 a barrel, a 3.8 per cent drop, the worst-one day decline since March 8, as investors bailed out of long positions in response to the bearish inventory figures.
USA markets remain heavily oversupplied, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.
US crude production rose to 9.252 million barrels per day from 9.235 million barrels in the week prior, continuing a strong rebound, according to EIA. Gasoline consumption also declined by about 1 percent to 9.3 million barrels.
U.S. crude stocks fell 1 million barrels in the latest week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, less than anticipated. Distillate stockpiles fell a bit more than expected-down 2 million barrels last week.
Teenager killed as Venezuelans march against government
Even while accusing the US of trying to overthrow him, Maduro has been careful not to antagonize the new USA president. They included state workers like Leidy Marquez, who was bused in from Tachira state on the other side of teh country.
"Total inventories of crude and products moved to a deficit versus year-ago levels for the first time since August 2014, despite a build in gasoline stocks following refinery runs rising by 241,000 [barrels per day]", said Troy Vincent, oil analyst at ClipperData.
May natural gas NGK17, +1.53% traded at $3.205 per million British thermal units, up 6 cents, or 1.9%, ahead of the EIA's weekly update on natural-gas inventories due out Thursday. "Looking at the latest price reactions, one might conclude that the only reason for the previous price rise was the expectation of further production cuts on the part of OPEC", Commerzbank strategist Carsten Fritch said.
Oil prices gained on Wednesday as members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said they were committed to eroding a global surplus of crude.
Saudi Arabia's oil exports fell to 6.96 million bpd in February from 7.7 million bpd in January.
"Despite uncertainty about technological improvements and the recent OPEC agreement, rebalancing oil supply in line with demand accompanied by stable prices, will hinge on the prospects for unconventional sources", the International Monetary Fund said in the document. "Geopolitical uncertainty is always a threat to inject premium into the market", said Macaluso.
Comments