Decrease in Oil Prices Due to Demand Concerns

Oil prices fell for the second day on Wednesday after a surprising increase in U.S. crude inventories raised concerns about demand following weaker-than-expected economic data from the United States and China, the world's two largest oil consumers. Brent crude futures dropped by 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $74.60 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude decreased by 32 cents, also 0.4%, to $70.55 at 00:05 GMT. U.S. crude inventories rose by about 3.6 million barrels in the week ending May 12, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Seven analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a decrease of 900,000 barrels. This heightened concerns about growth in the United States, triggered by data showing retail sales increased by 0.4% in April, below the forecasted rise of 0.8%. Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA, noted in a memo: "The global economic outlook has many question marks, which does not give energy traders much confidence to buy crude oil. There is still a lot of oil available at the moment."