WTI turned lower today as traders weighed output cuts from OPEC and its partners against expectations for rising U.S. crude inventories and a slowing US services economy.

"My guess would be that some of the refiners may cut back on some of their runs so crude supply ought to build a bit" said Stewart Glickman, an energy equity analyst at CFRA Research. "They’re probably limited in their ability to substitute away from Venezuelan heavy crude"

API

• Crude +2.514mm (+1.5mm exp)
• Cushing +889k (+400k exp)
• Gasoline +1.731mm (+1.5mm exp)
• Distillates +1.141mm (-2mm exp)

A small crude build last week (and product draws) surprised traders and tonight's API saw builds across all cohorts (with crude inventories rising more than expected)

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WTI traded lower all afternoon, holding around $53.70 ahead of the API print and barely reacted to the builds...

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“People are slowly getting nervous about the economy", “Everyone is worried that prices will be weaker than last year". - said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts.