WTI extends the decline to near $60.00 on rising US inventories

• WTI price edges lower to near $60.00 in Wednesday’s Asian session.

• API reported the biggest increase in US inventories in more than three months.

• Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Black Sea could lift the WTI price. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $60.00 during the Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The WTI extends its downside amid a significant increase in US crude inventories. Traders will keep an eye on the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) crude Oil stockpiles report later on Wednesday. 

Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed that crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending October 31 climbed by 6.5 million barrels compared to a fall of 4 million barrels in the previous week. Crude oil inventories in the US are so far showing a net gain of 3.6 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.

On the other hand, geopolitical risks might help limit the WTI’s losses. Traders will closely monitor attacks on Russian infrastructure after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced an intensification late last month.

Kyiv claimed a strike on Lukoil PJSC’s refinery in Nizhny Novgorod province, which processes around 340,000 barrels a day of crude, mainly for domestic use. It has also targeted the Tuapse and Saratov plants over the past week. Any signs of rising escalation could boost the WTI price now.