US Nymex crude fell during trading on Wednesday, despite preliminary estimates indicating a decline in US stocks, and amid following up on the latest developments in the Delta strain of the Corona virus.
Financial services firm ANZ sees the seasonal slowdown in economic activity amid rising delta infections continuing to pressure confidence, according to Reuters.
It expects crude demand to come under pressure in light of the delta strain outbreak in about half of the Chinese provinces, coinciding with the peak travel season.
In terms of trading, the futures contracts for the benchmark Brent crude for October delivery settled at $72.37 a barrel.
While the US NYMEX crude contracts for September delivery fell 0.3% at $70.37 a barrel.
The American Petroleum Institute data revealed that oil stocks fell by 879,000 barrels for the week ending on July 30th.
The US Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data for the past week later today.
