A drift of almost $73 a barrel for the oil was stated on Wednesday, after data showed a large build in U. S. crude stocks, indicating weak demand in the world's top energy consumer. On Tuesday oil settled relatively 2% higher sustained by snowstorm over the world's largest heating oil consumer US Northeast and weaker dollar on Wall Street.

Keiichi Sano, General Manager of research at Tokyo-based SCM Securities said, "The market should not get too bearish despite the rise in weekly inventories, because of the snowstorms sweeping across the Northern Hemisphere. Oil should not fall below $70. It will remain driven by the dollar's movements and the mood in the financial markets".

U. S. crude for March delivery declined 22 cents to $73.53 a barrel by 0715 GMT, whereas London Brent crude dipped 35 cents at $71.78. Despite a drop in crude imports and weekly crude runs last week, U. S. crude inventories leaped by 7.2 million barrels to 337.6 million barrels. Gasoline inventories also inclined unexpectedly from 1.6 million barrels to 228.8 million barrels.

Barclays Capital stated in a report, "In the short-term, oil prices may be caught in between the shrapnel of negative macro sentiment yet improving fundamentals, resulting in some heightened volatility".