By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – U.S. oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week exacerbating the losses in oil prices amid easing optimism over the global oil demand recovery and a pullback on supply disruptions bets after Suez Canal jam ended.

rose by 3.91 million barrels last week, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, after a build of 2.9 million barrels the previous week. Gasoline inventories declined by about 6.0 million, compared with a 3.7 million draw in the prior week, while distillate stocks increased by about 2.6 million barrels.  

, the U.S. benchmark for oil fell $1.17 a barrel on the news after settling down $1.01 at $60.55 a barrel.

The backdrop of lower prices comes amid a weaker outlook on demand recovery from OPEC . “While last month saw many positive developments, it also witnessed reminders of the ongoing uncertainties and fragility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” OPEC Secretary Mohammed Barkindo told the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee on Tuesday, according to a statement.

The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. decreased by about 107,000 barrels last week.