 "Oil slips to $49 on huge US stock build, firm dollar")
Oil slipped to $49 a barrel on Wednesday after an industry report said US crude stocks rose the most in two decades last week, and as a firmer dollar added to pressure on prices.
The American Petroleum Institute said late on Tuesday that US crude stocks jumped a massive 12.7 million barrels last week, triple the volume expected, and including a two million barrel increase at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point of the US oil contract.
If confirmed, by official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) at 1530 GMT on Wednesday, the weekly rise would be the biggest since March 1994, according to EIA data, and follows a 10.1 million barrel build last week.
On Wednesday, Brent crude oil for March delivery was down 25 cents at $49.35 a barrel by 1148 GMT, having touched an intraday low of $48.79. It hit a near six-year low of $45.19 a barrel two weeks ago.
US crude for March delivery fell 76 cents to $45.47 a barrel, and hit an intraday low of $45.14.
Fast-growing US shale output has pushed oil prices almost 60 per cent lower since June, with losses accelerating after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would not cut output in a bid to preserve its market share.
The American Petroleum Institute said late on Tuesday that US crude stocks jumped a massive 12.7 million barrels last week, triple the volume expected, and including a two million barrel increase at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point of the US oil contract.
If confirmed, by official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) at 1530 GMT on Wednesday, the weekly rise would be the biggest since March 1994, according to EIA data, and follows a 10.1 million barrel build last week.
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"Crude oil stocks in the US still appear to be growing incessantly," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.
On Wednesday, Brent crude oil for March delivery was down 25 cents at $49.35 a barrel by 1148 GMT, having touched an intraday low of $48.79. It hit a near six-year low of $45.19 a barrel two weeks ago.
US crude for March delivery fell 76 cents to $45.47 a barrel, and hit an intraday low of $45.14.
Fast-growing US shale output has pushed oil prices almost 60 per cent lower since June, with losses accelerating after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would not cut output in a bid to preserve its market share.