Brent Oil Benchmark Dips But Stays Over $40 A Barrel

“If the EIA confirms a crude oil build later today, it would be the first U.S. stock build since mid-July,” ING analysts said.

On China’s oil imports which have supported oil in recent months, Bank ANZ said they were likely to level off as ‘teapot’, or independent refineries, reach their maximum annual crude import quotas.

In a further bearish sign, leading commodity traders are booking tankers to store crude oil and diesel on the water, with supply outpacing consumption, according to trading sources and shipping data.

The rising stockpiles come ahead of a meeting on Sept. 17 of the market monitoring panel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, together known as OPEC+, which in August trimmed supply curbs from earlier this year on expectations demand would improve.