NEW YORK: Oil prices slipped nearly three per cent on Wednesday, pressured by a rise in US commercial inventories, wea­ker economic data from China and US progress on Ukraine and Israel aid bills.

Brent futures for June were down $2.44, or 2.7pc, to $87.58 a barrel at 12:20pm ET (1720 GMT), while US crude futures for May were down $2.32, or 2.7pc, at $83.00 a barrel. Both were on track for their biggest fall since March 20.

Oil prices have softened this week as economic headwinds curb gains from geopolitical tensions, with markets eyeing how Israel might respond to Iran’s weekend attack.

Analysts do not expect Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone strike on Israel to prompt dramatic US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.

“Oil prices go about their business of unwinding some of the war premium that has been priced in,” said John Evans at oil broker PVM.

US crude inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels to 460 million barrels last week, government data showed, nearly double analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4m-barrel build.

Oil prices continued to decline after US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said the text of four bills providing assistance to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific would be filed “soon today,” with a fourth with “other measures to confront Russia, China and Iran” posted later in the day.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2024