WTI crude oil prices have slipped lower early on Wednesday amid a surprising rise in US crude inventories, adding to markets’ growing concerns about oversupply even as demand is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels despite economies reopening. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $40.07 per barrel.

According to the API report which released during the previous session, crude stockpiles in the US increased by 1.7 million barrels over the past week. Economists had forecast a rise of 300k barrels over the period instead – a far smaller increase.

On a positive note, however, the report did reveal an uptick in fuel consumption in the US, with stocks of gasoline and distillates going down over the same period. Hopes of improvement in oil demand as countries emerge out of lockdown have supported crude oil prices in recent weeks, even as leading oil producers commit to deeper supply cuts.

Meanwhile, fears about a second wave of coronavirus dashing recovery in the economy and oil demand globally are keeping oil prices under pressure lately. According to Reuters, new coronavirus cases rose by 25% in the US during the past week compared to the week before that.