Brent futures slipped below $103 a barrel this morning over fears that US finance chiefs may cut back on the country’s economic stimulus programme.
However, a surprise fall in crude stockpiles helped slow the price slide .
Riskier assets weakened across the board, including equities and base metals, as investors remained nervous ahead of a report into the state of the US jobs market tomorrow which will give a strong indicator on the state of the American economy.
As a result, Brent fell for the second successive day, dropping 9 cents to $102.95 a barrel by 0344 GMT.
A weak global demand growth outlook and ample supplies will weigh on oil as fundamentals for the market are weak, analysts warned.
Oil prices may also draw support from a more-than-expected fall in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Meanwhile US crude stockpiles and gasoline stocks on the country’s east coast fell as imports tumbled, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.
Crude stockpiles fell by nearly 6.3 million barrels last week, substantially more than the forecast 400,000 barrel decline.
“Good refining margins present an incentive to run refinery capacity, but current utilisation levels are nonetheless only at the five-year average for this time of year,” analysts at BNP Paribas said.