TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday,
giving up some of the strong gains of the previous session,
after an industry report showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose last
week, against analyst expectations of a decline.
Brent crude was down 18 cents, or 0.3%, at $60.52 a barrel
by 0040 GMT. On Wednesday, Brent rose 4.2 percent.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 23 cents, or 0.4%, at
$56.03 a barrel, having risen 4.3% the previous session, the
biggest percentage gain in nearly two months.
"Oil bulls can't seemingly catch a break after the rally
sapping surprising build in the American Petroleum Institute oil
inventory survey has throttled WTI upward momentum dead in its
tracks," said Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at
AxiTrader.
U.S. crude stocks rose last week, while gasoline inventories
decreased and distillate stocks drew, data from industry group
the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on Wednesday.
API/S
Crude inventories rose by 401,000 barrels in the week ended
Aug. 30 to 429.1 million, compared with analysts' expectations
for a decrease of 2.5 million barrels.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by
238,000 barrels, while refinery crude runs fell by 306,000
barrels per day, API said.
Oil prices surged on Wednesday after a survey showed that
activity in China's services sector expanded at the fastest pace
in three months in August as new orders rose. China is the world's second-largest oil consumer and largest
importer.
But as evidence mounts that the trade war between the United
States and China is hitting economies worldwide, oil demand
growth expectations have been trimmed.
BP Plc's BP.L Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary told
Reuters that global oil demand is expected to grow by less than
1 million barrels per day in 2019 as consumption slows.
U.S. President Donald Trump also warned on Tuesday he would
be "tougher" on Beijing if he wins a second term should trade
talks drag on, adding to fears of a possible U.S. recession.
Still, supply looks set to stay constrained as Russian
officials and sources from the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) indicated the countries remain
committed to an agreement to rein in production to support
prices.