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Oil prices fell in thin trade on Thursday ahead of the Easter break.
Benchmark Brent crude futures dropped 1.3 percent to 4107.37 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were down 1.2 percent at $103.
A two-day rally in oil prices lost stream after data showed a larger-than-expected build in U.S. oil stocks.
Data from Energy Information Administration showed crude inventories increased by 9.382 million barrels last week, versus an expected increase of about 0.863 million barrels.
The data showed gasoline inventories dropped by 3.649 million barrels last week and distillate stockpile decreased by 2.902 million barrels.
Investors also fretted about demand from the world’s biggest crude importer after reports that Shanghai lockdown measures are impacting airfreight operations in the city.
Shanghai’s 25 million residents continue to battle the worst Omicron-drive Covid-19 outbreak with a massive majority still locked down, some for three-to-four weeks since March.
China’s financial hub Shanghai reported over 27,000 Covid-19 cases including a record 2,573 symptomatic infections, a day after President Xi Jinping said that the country must continue with its strict “dynamic Covid clearance” policy and pandemic control measures.
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