FX.co ★ Oil Prices Decline Ahead Of EIA Data

Oil prices inched lower on Wednesday despite positive U.S. and Chinese data and higher demand forecasts.

Benchmark Brent crude futures fell half a percent to $82.03 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 0.7 percent at $77.72.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday raised its oil demand growth forecasts for this year and next but cautioned that oil markets won't be as tight as expected this quarter.

Earlier in the day, China reported mixed economic data and boosted liquidity injection through seven-day reverse repos aimed at shoring up sluggish economic growth.

Chinese industrial production and retail sales grew more than expected in October while fixed asset investment slowed and property sales continued to decline, official data showed.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release inventory data for the weeks ended November 3 and November 10 later in the day. The data is delayed due to a systems upgrade.

Industry data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on late-Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories likely rose 1.3 million barrels in the week to Nov 10.