Oil prices were set for sixth straight day of declines this Friday, dragged lower by a surge in U.S. crude inventories, timid demand and doubts over the ability of producers to coordinate output cuts.
Brent crude futures were at $46.21 per barrel at 0740 GMT, meaning they were down with 14 cents from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures went the same direction, dropping with 9 cents at $44.57 a barrel.
The dips put crude on the longest losing run since June and, before that, since January, with Brent shedding almost 14% since its recent peak in mid-October.
Jeffrey Halley of OANDA brokerage in Singapore, shared:
I suspect the main drivers are that risk is being taken off the table ahead of next week’s election.
Crude oil stockpiles plunged more than 14 million barrels last week in the U.S., the largest build on record, highlighting that a global fuel supply overhang is far from over.