2023.11.2208:57:00UTC+00Oil Prices Edge Lower After Sharp Build In Crude Stocks

Oil prices were moving lower on Wednesday as Middle East tensions eased and industry data pointed to a substantial build in U.S. crude stocks. A weaker dollar also weighed on prices.

Benchmark Brent crude futures dipped 0.6 percent to $82.01 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 0.6 percent at $77.28 in pre-Thanksgiving trade ahead of Sunday's scheduled OPEC+ meeting.

Hamas and Israel have agreed to a Qatar-mediated pause in fighting, helping ease Middle East tensions.

The deal includes the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in exchange for 50 people held captive by Hamas in Gaza since the armed group that rules the enclave stormed southern Israel on October 7.

Crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 9.05 million barrels in the week ended Nov.17, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a 1.467-million-barrel build.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later in the day.

The dollar rebounded from 2-1/2-month low after the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting minutes largely reaffirmed the U.S. central bank's more cautious stance on interest rates.

Minutes from the Fed's last rate-setting meeting showed officials expect to keep interest rates at a restrictive level for "sometime" and raise interest rates if progress in controlling inflation faltered.