Oil prices fall on rising U.S. stocks and Iraq exports

Oil prices retreated on Wednesday morning as data revealed a substantial increase in crude inventories within the United States. Brent futures fell by $1.15, or 1.11%, to $102.27 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.54, or 1.6%, to $94.67. Figures from the American Petroleum Institute indicated that domestic crude stocks rose by 6.56 million barrels in the week ending March 13, far exceeding the 380,000-barrel increase anticipated by analysts in a recent Reuters poll.