Oil prices slipped a second day on Thursday, with Brent edging down further from the $70 mark after weekly U.S. oil data showed a surprise build in crude inventories and record production.
Brent futures were down 3 cents at $69.28 a barrel by 0603 GMT. Brent fell 6 cents on Wednesday, after touching $69.96, highest since Nov. 12, when it last traded above $70.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $62.38 a barrel. The contract dropped 12 cents in the previous session after briefly hitting $62.99, also the highest since November.
Global benchmark Brent has gained nearly 30 percent this year, while WTI has gained nearly 40 percent. Prices have been underpinned by tightening global supplies and signs of demand picking up.
Still, crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 7.2 million barrels last week, as net imports climbed, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Analysts had forecast a decrease of 425,000 barrels.
U.S. crude production climbed 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a record 12.2 million bpd, after hovering around 12 million to 12.1 million bpd since mid-February, according to the EIA data.
Brent edges further away from $70 level on build in US stocks, CNBC, Apr 04
Source: FxPro