Oil prices fell for a third day straight on Wednesday on growing signs that supply growth will outpace demand next year, and as the World Health Organization said COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against the Omicron variant.
Brent crude futures fell 78 cents, or 1.1%, to $72.92 U.S. a barrel, after losing 69 cents on Tuesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 85 cents, or 1.2%, to $69.88 a barrel, after losing 56 cents in the previous session.
The front-month Brent contract is trading at a small premium to the second month, after trading briefly at a small discount on Tuesday, a market structure known as contango.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday said a surge in COVID-19 cases with the emergence of the Omicron variant will dent global demand for oil at the same time that crude output is set to increase, especially in the United States, with supply set to exceed demand through at least the end of next year.
In contrast, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting on Monday raised its world oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022.
American Petroleum Institute data showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 815,000 barrels in the week ended Dec. 10, according to market sources, compared with a 2.1 million barrel drop that 10 analysts polled by Reuters had expected.
Weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later on Wednesday.