NYMEX crude oil dips in Asia after API build, looks to OPEC

Investing.com - Oil prices dipped in early Asia on Wednesday after U.S. data that showed an increase in crude stocks last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in January traded at $73.82 a barrel, down 0.03%, after hitting an overnight session low of $74.29 a barrel and off a high of $76.57 a barrel.

Industry group the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that U.S. crude oil stocks rose 2.8 million barrels last week, while distillates declined 1.3 million barrels and gasoline stocks rose 43,000 barrels.

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. in the past week likely are seen down 467,000 barrels, while distillates fell 550,000 barrels and gasoline stocks rose 1.817 million barrels data due from the U.S. Energy Information Administration at 10:30 a.m. EST Wednesday is expected to show.

The global Brent contract for January fell 1.7% to $78.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange on Tuesday.

Investors were also keeping Thursday's OPEC meeting in focus, with many on the sidelines to see if the cartel cuts output to shore up slumping prices.

The Wall Street Journal reported there may be preliminary agreement among member nations, including de facto leader Saudi Arabia, to more strictly enforce the existing production quota of 30 million barrels a day. Such a move could remove at least 300,000 barrels from the market based on recent data.

Still, it would fall short of the 1 million-barrel cut analysts say is necessary to stabilize the global supply-and-demand balance, and thorny questions remain about how the reduction would be apportioned among members and enforced. The market gave back gains as it faded into the close.

Overnight, crude futures dropped on Tuesday after a widely-watched gauge of U.S. consumer confidence disappointed investors and stoked concerns over the strength of the country's recovery and how much fuel and energy it will consume going forward.

The Conference Board market research group reported earlier that consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 this month from a 94.1 in October, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported 94.5.

Analysts expected the index to increase to 95.9 in November, and the surprise deterioration sent investors selling oil prices on concerns demand in the U.S. may still face headwinds.

The Present Situation Index declined from 94.4 to 91.3, while the Expectations Index decreased sharply to 87.0 from 93.8 in October.

Earlier Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9% in the third quarter, topping expectations for a reading of 3.3%, though the disappointing consumer confidence report kept prices in negative territory.

Preliminary data initially pegged U.S. growth at 3.5% in the third quarter. The U.S. economy expanded by 4.6% in the preceding quarter.

The data showed personal consumption rose 2.2% in the third quarter, beating expectations for a 1.9% gain and up from a preliminary estimate of 1.8%.

Consumer spending typically accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic growth.