Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Wednesday after an industry group reported a surprise increase in U.S. inventories, fueling concerns about weaker-than-expected demand in the country that consumes the most oil.
Brent crude oil futures fell 19 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $84.82 a barrel by 0023 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.72 a barrel.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 914,000 barrels in the week ended June 21, according to market sources briefed on the data. Analysts polled by Reuters expect crude inventories to have fallen by nearly 3 million barrels last week.
Official U.S. government data on oil and fuel stocks is due at 1430 GMT.
Concerns about a weak start to the U.S. summer driving season were partly to blame for the collapse in oil prices in the previous session. The API reported a 3.84 million barrel increase in U.S. gasoline inventories last week, sources said, while analysts had expected a 1 million barrel decline.
Falling U.S. consumer confidence this month added to concerns about the economic outlook, and the rising U.S. dollar weighed on oil and other commodities after upbeat comments from Federal Reserve officials, officials said. said ANZ Bank analysts.
The U.S. dollar index rose slightly on Wednesday after rising about 0.1% against a basket of currencies in the previous session.
A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for investors holding other currencies. (Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York, editing by Shri Navaratnam)
