Oil sinks further on surprise build-up

Oil prices plunged for the second day straight after climbing to a 7-year high during the week’s start. The black liquid declined following an unexpected buildup in the United States’ crude inventory.

Brent crude futures plummeted 2.23% to $82 by 12:01 AM ET (4:01 AM GMT) even as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also took a 1.97% decline to $81.03.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a 4.267-million-barrel increase in U.S. crude supplies. 

Meanwhile, data released the day before by the American Petroleum Institute showed a 2.318-million-barrel build in crude supplies.

Citi Research commodities analysts noted that the “hefty”  EIA stock buildup came “on the back of a large jump in net imports of crude oil and still sluggish refinery processing.”

However, the EIA data also showed that gasoline stocks diminished by 1.994 million barrels to the lowest in almost four years even as U.S. consumers contend with increasing prices.