Oil falls ahead of US inventory data

Oil prices declined today, Sept. 18, as investors awaited weekly US inventory data and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement due later today. 

Brent crude was trading down 0.54% at $73.30 a barrel at 08:02 am Makkah time. WTI crude fell 0.60% to $70.76 a barrel. 

The American Petroleum Institute data issued on Sept. 17 showed that oil storage in the US rose by 1.96 million barrels during the past week. Gasoline stocks rose by 2.3 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by about the same amount. 

These estimates raised investors' concerns about weak US demand. The official inventory data is due from the Energy Information Administration later today.