Oil Prices Fall on Rising Crude Stocks, Fed Comments

Oil prices fell 1% on Wednesday, ending three days of gains, as industry sources pointed to rising U.S. crude stockpiles and hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that signaled slower rate cuts this year.Brent futures were down 67 cents or 0.87% at $76.33 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 75 cents or 1.02% to $72.57 a barrel.The declines come after three days of gains during which Brent climbed 3.6% and WTI rose 3.7%.U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the economy is in a good place and the Fed isn’t rushing to cut interest rates further, but is prepared to do it if inflation drops or the job market weakens.Higher interest rates increase the cost of borrowing, which can slow economic activity and dampen demand for oil.Gasoline inventories fell by 2.51 million barrels, and distillate stocks dropped by 590,000 barrels, the sources said the API data showed.Data from the Energy Information Administration will be released later on Wednesday.U.S. consumer price index data will be released late on Wednesday morning. Expectations are for a slight slowdown in January’s core inflation print to an annual 3.1% and for the headline number to hold steady at 2.9%.The EIA also increased its estimate for U.S. crude production while leaving its demand forecast unchanged. It now expects U.S. crude oil output to average 13.59 million barrels per day in 2025, up from its prior estimate of 13.55 million bpd.