Crude oil prices continued to decline lower after falling below the $ 70 a barrel level earlier in the week, weighed down by concerns over global demand that would be affected by the rise of coronavirus cases and OPEC+ ’s agreement to increase oil production.
In the Asian session, Brent crude futures traded gloomily around $ 68.80 a barrel, while US WTI was down at $ 66.75 a barrel.
Data readings released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) unexpectedly showed an increase in U.S. crude oil supplies last week with an increase of 806,000 barrels.
This increase will be the first recorded since May, if official data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also reports an increase in crude oil inventories.
The very rapid spread of the Delta variant continues to drive an increase in cases of infection worldwide, making the market worried that the recovery in global demand achieved so far will be affected.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ 's decision to continue to increase oil production also put pressure on markets amid shaky demand from the world's major economies.
Last week, China reported a decline in its crude oil imports, in line with a recovery in several other economic data showing slower growth in the country.
