Oil falls as bearish demand sentiment weighs on market

ANKARA

Oil prices slid on Wednesday over bearish demand indicators driven by expected rise in US crude oil stockpiles, coupled with lingering effects of US bank collapses and upcoming US Fed decision on interest rate.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $74.91 per barrel at 10.09 a.m. local time (0709GMT), a 0.54% decrease from the closing price of $75.32 a barrel in the previous trading session.

At the same time, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $69.28 per barrel, a 0.55% fall after the previous session closed at $69.67 a barrel.

Prices came under demand pressure after the American Petroleum Institute (API) announced late Tuesday its estimate of a rise of over 3.26 million barrels in US crude oil inventories, relative to the market expectation of a 1.4-barrel fall.

A strong increase in inventory implies a fall in crude demand in the US, assuaging market concerns over falling demand.

Weakening demand concerns continue putting downward pressure on prices after the American banking industry has been rattled with sudden collapses in recent weeks

This comes ahead of a key decision from the US Fed, which is expected to keep interest rates unchanged after the conclusion of a two-day meeting Wednesday as the American banking industry has been rattled with sudden collapses in recent weeks.