Oil falls from 18-month high as report shows US stockpile gain

Oil retreated from the highest close since July 2015 after industry data showed US crude stockpiles expanded, adding to a glut. Futures slid as much as 1.1 per cent in New York after climbing 6.2 per cent the previous eight sessions, the longest runs of gains in almost seven years. US crude inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. That compares with government data that’s forecast to show supplies fell. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producing nations will start cutting supply from next month to stabilise the market. Oil has traded near or above $50 a barrel since OPEC agreed in November to curb production for the first time in eight years. The deal was bolstered by a pledge from 11 non-OPEC nations including Russia to also trim supply. Iraq is committed to reducing output by as much as 210,000 barrels a day from January, the nation’s oil minister told Kuwait’s state-run news agency Kuna. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery lost as much as 60 cents to $53.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $53.66 at 8:23 a.m. in Hong Kong. The contract gained 16 cents to $54.06 on Wednesday. Total volume traded was about 67 per cent below the 100-day average. Prices are up 45 per cent this year. Brent for February settlement, which expires Thursday, gained 13 cents to close at $56.22 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange on Wednesday. Prices are up 51 per cent this year. The global benchmark crude ended the session at a premium of $2.16 to WTI. (Ben Sharples/Bloomberg)