18.12.201909:02:00UTC+00Oil Dips After US Stock Build

Oil prices eased from three-month highs on Wednesday after industry data showed a huge surprise crude oil inventory build.

Benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.7 percent to $65.65 a barrel after a 1.2 percent gain the previous day. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.9 percent at $60.31 per barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies rose by 4.7 million barrels in the week to Dec. 13. That compared with analysts' expectations for a draw of 1.3 million barrels.

There was a stockpile increase of 5.6 million barrels for gasoline, while distillate stocks grew by 3.7 million barrels. Inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later today.

Investors were also reacting to weak data from Japan showing that the country's exports decreased for the 12th consecutive month in November, raising the risk of a contraction in the fourth quarter.

Exports fell 7.9 percent on a yearly basis in November - slower than the 8.8 percent fall economists had expected. Exports to the United States decreased 12.9 percent while that to China were down 5.4 percent.