Brent oil falls below $53 on oversupply concerns
Oil prices have been on a slippery slope since a brief rally at the start of this year, and it just got even greasier, after industry data out of the US fuelled oversupply concerns.
Brent crude, which is the international benchmark, was trading down 0.9 per cent at $53 dollars per barrel today. Western Texas Intermediate, the main measure for the US, was about three per cent lower at $42.21 per barrel.
Investors took heed after data showed US crude inventories rose by 10.5m barrels to 450m barrels last week, according to figures released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) figures showed on Tuesday.
The glut in global supply and waning appetites from emerging economies like China have weighed on oil prices. They peaked at around $114 per barrel in June, before sliding as low as $45 per barrel in mid-January this year.
Despite prices sustaining a small rally towards start of this year, oversupply concerns put the breaks on this.