Oil dips

London

Oil prices weakened further on Wednesday as data showed a rise in U.S. crude inventories and record supplies in the rest of the world cast doubt over OPEC's ability to cut output and tighten the market.  U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading down 4 cents at $49.52 per barrel, after gaining 0.7 percent in the previous session.  The WTI price has fallen for seven of the past eight sessions. North Sea Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, eased 3 cents to $52.07 per barrel. Brent is around 8.5 percent below its April peak.

Market players pointed to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) U.S. inventory data, issued late on Tuesday, as weighing on prices.  Not only did the report show crude oil stocks rose 897,000 barrels in the week to April 21, defying expectations of a 1.7 million barrel draw, but it also showed a large build in gasoline stocks, unusual for this time of the year.