Oil prices on Thursday, Oct 3, shed some of the prior day's gains after a report showed a bump upward in U.S. crude inventories, according to the Associated Press.
Benchmark oil for November delivery was down 41 cents to US$103.69 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A report from the American Petroleum Institute showed an increase in oil supplies for the week ending Sept 27. Stocks rose by 356,000 barrels to 363.7 million barrels from the prior week, suggesting a weakening in demand.
The price of oil rose the most in two weeks Wednesday, on the prospect of more oil shipping between a key U.S. Midwest hub and the Gulf Coast. The contract jumped $2.06, or 2 per cent, to close at $104.10 on the Nymex on Wednesday.
Reports said that Transcanada is close to completing work on the southern portion of its Keystone pipeline expansion. That could mean as much as 700,000 barrels a day moving out of Cushing, Oklahoma, the pricing point for U.S. benchmark oil. The additional demand is likely to boost oil prices all else held equal.
Brent crude, a benchmark used to price imported crude used by many U.S. refineries, fell 25 cents to $108.94 in London.
