On Friday, WTI crude oil prices continue to slide lower due to a surprising build in US crude inventories which reinforces worries that oil demand remains weak due to the pandemic even after the easing of lockdown restrictions. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $37.18 per barrel.

During the previous session, US oil prices fell by around 2% and are all set to post declines for the second consecutive week. The bearishness was driven by the release of the EIA report which revealed that US crude stockpiles increased by 2 million barrels during the previous week instead of declining by 1.3 million barrels as forecast by economists.

Crude oil prices are also trading weaker lately over worries about oversupply in markets after recent news reports indicated that traders have started booking tankers to store oil as demand fails to pick up. Onshore storage capacity is close to filling up as companies continue to produce oil at a higher rate even as demand remains weak.

Despite the lifting of lockdown measures across most countries around the world, fears of a second wave of coronavirus and reimposition of lockdowns are keeping oil under pressure. Even as countries resume economic activity, it will take longer than previously forecast for the economy to rebound fully and for oil demand to rise to pre-pandemic levels.