The price of oil fell today in response to figures showing a large build-up of US crude and gasoline stocks, which calmed concerns of a US gasoline shortage this summer.
A barrel of benchmark Brent North Sea crude for June delivery fell to $27.85 from $28.33 at the previous close.
Prices were also expected to come under pressure later in New York, where light sweet crude June futures had firmed 48 cents to 28.94 dollars overnight.
US crude stocks rose by 8.3 million barrels to 321.98 million last week, according to the API.
Gasoline stocks increased by 3.0 million barrels to 198.7 million, the figures showed.
"The stats in some respects are almost unbelievable," said Royal Bank of Scotland head of commodities risk Mr Andrew Hartree.
"We were expecting a draw on crude and expecting smaller rises on gasoline and distillates, and we got a massive build on crude and big builds elsewhere," he told reporters.
Traders said they were waiting for official figures from the US Department of Energy published on Wednesdays for further evidence of the state of US reserves.
AFP