Oil prices dipped again on Thursday, adding to the prior session’s selloff, after new inventory data from the United States heightened concerns about an increasingly oversupplied market.
As of 06:45 GMT, Brent crude traded flat at $62.71 a barrel following a 3.8% drop on Wednesday. U.S. WTI crude slipped by 3 cents to $58.46, extending the previous session’s 4.2% decline.
According to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute data, U.S. crude stocks grew by 1.3 million barrels for the week ending November 7. Gasoline and distillate stocks were reported lower.
Wednesday’s decline accelerated after OPEC indicated that global oil supply is likely to exceed fuel demand in 2026—a shift away from the group’s earlier expectations of a deficit.
Suvro Sarkar, energy sector team lead at DBS Bank, said: “Recent (price) weakness seems to be driven by OPEC’s revision of supply-demand balance in 2026 in its monthly report, which confirms the group is now acknowledging the possibility of a supply glut in 2026, in contrast to its more bullish stance all along.”
He added: “This falls in place with the recent decision to pause the unwinding of voluntary production cuts in 1Q. Given that this is just a shift to a more realistic reading of the market, it doesn’t change fundamentals, hence the market reaction seems overdone.”
The projected surplus is tied to increased production from OPEC+, which includes both cartel members and partners like Russia.
Yang An at Haitong Securities noted: “OPEC’s signal of a supply surplus unleashed previously pent-up bearish sentiment in the previous session, while a U.S. crude inventory build added pressure, pushing oil prices to continue to slide on Thursday morning.”
Traders now await official inventory data from the U.S. EIA due later in the day. Additional reports on Wednesday further weighed on market sentiment.
The EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that U.S. oil output is on course to set an even bigger record this year. It also expects global oil inventories to keep rising through 2026 as supply growth continues to outpace consumption.
Despite the bearish backdrop, some analysts believe crude will find a floor near current levels.
Sarkar said: “There should be considerable support to oil prices around $60/bbl, especially given there could be short-term disruption to Russian export flows once stricter sanctions kick in.”
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