LONDON: Brent crude fell towards $53 a barrel on Wednesday as U.S. crude stocks were forecast to have surged for the tenth straight week to a new record high, fuelling supply concerns of a global oil glut, although a weaker dollar kept a floor under prices.
Brent for May delivery LCOc1 fell 25 cents to $53.26 a barrel by 0357 GMT after ending the previous session 7 cents up at $53.51.
U.S. crude for April delivery CLC1 fell 79 cents to $42.67 a barrel, falling more than $1 a barrel in early Asian trade on Wednesday after crude inventories rose by 10.5 million barrels to 450 million in the week to March 13, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.
Analysts had expected a 3.8 million barrel increase.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 3 million barrels, API said.
Official inventory data will be issued later on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
