Oil prices fell this evening after US data showed continued labour market weakness in the world's biggest oil user, where fuel inventories have swollen to record levels. US crude fell 71 cents to $74 a barrel, while Brent fell 77 cents to $77.18.
Oil investors, as with their counterparts in other commodities markets, have had to deal with worries about a slowing recovery pace in the United States.
US government data on Wednesday showed an unexpected increase in US crude and petrol stockpiles. The inventory increase last week, despite the eight-day shutdown of the biggest pipeline shipping Canadian crude to the US, reaffirmed views that prices would mostly remain in a narrow range between $70 and $80, the preferred level for OPEC producers, for the rest of the year.
