Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell sharply on Wednesday, amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories rose at a faster pace than expected last week.
Crude oil for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 92 cents, or 1.98%, to trade at $45.38 a barrel during European morning hours. A day earlier, Nymex oil prices eased up 1 cent, or 0.02%.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration was to release its weekly report on oil supplies at 10:30AM Eastern Time Wednesday.
The data was expected to show that crude inventories rose by 3.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to decline by 0.9 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by a whopping 7.1 million barrels in the week ended October 16, above expectations for a gain of 3.5 million.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for December delivery shed 61 cents, or 1.25%, to trade at $48.10 a barrel. On Tuesday, Brent futures inched up 10 cents, or 0.21%.
A meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil market experts in Vienna later in the day may shed further light on the group's position of maintaining production at current levels as prices remain muted.
The cartel invited eight non-member countries, including Russia, for talks on the market. OPEC's own meeting to set policy is not until December 4.
The oil market has been volatile in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink. Despite this tighter outlook for North America, output remains robust in other countries.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (N:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. decreased by 10 last week to 595, the seventh straight weekly decline. Over the prior six weeks, drillers had cut 70 rigs.
However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC members have indicated in recent months that they will continue to stick to their policy of defending market share by keeping production high.
Oil prices have lost nearly 60% since last summer as lingering concerns over a glut in world markets drove down prices.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $2.72 a barrel, compared to $2.42 by close of trade on Tuesday.