Oil slips towards $109 as stockpiles rise

Brent crude slipped towards $109 a barrel on Wednesday pressured by rising inventories in China and expectations of a further buildup in the US.
Maintenance at US refineries and pipeline outages has led to an increase in domestic stocks, stretching Brent’s premium to the US benchmark also known as WTI to close at $12 a barrel, its widest since April.
Brent crude slipped 71 cents to $109.26 a barrel by 0846 GMT after hitting a session high of $110.06.
US crude fell 83 cents to $97.47 and earlier reached $97.40, its lowest since July 1.
“WTI prices are largely dictated by the amount of supply in the US at the moment, which is why WTI really under performed Brent overnight,” said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney.
A series of reports showing rising crude stocks has pressured prices.
Reuters/NAN.