Oil prices slide due to chill impact on US refineries
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Gulf Today Report
Oil prices dropped by 2% on Friday due to concerns about how long US refineries will take before resuming operation.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.14, or 1.9%, to $59.38 a barrel at 04:21 GMT while Brent crude futures dropped $1.03, or 1.6%, to $62.90 a barrel.
According to analysts, the extreme cold in US has affected one-third of US crude production, affecting refineries.
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In a note, ANZ Research said, the lack of demand from Texan refiners will likely lead to builds in crude stocks over coming weeks, even though around 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of US Oil output has been shut.
US crude stockpiles fell more than expected in the week to Feb. 12, before the freeze, with inventories down by 7.3 million barrels to 461.8 million barrels, their lowest since March, the Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday.
