Oil edged lower as growing stockpiles of crude and gasoline tempered fears of a tight market. 

West Texas Intermediate for September delivery settled below US$100 a barrel in a volatile session. A US inventory report showed a build in inventories at the largest storage hub in Cushing, while gasoline stockpiles grew more-than-expected 3.5 million barrels last week, according to an Energy Information Administration report. 

Gasoline demand rose week over week but remains below where it was this time of year in 2020, when Covid lockdowns kept millions off the road. 

“The EIA report was just good enough to keep crude off the lows of the session,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management. “Volumes and open interest remain very low so it is clear that many are content to sit on the sidelines until we get more data.”

Oil prices have struggled to find meaningful direction in recent days as trading volumes have thinned out with summer trading. Open interest -- the total number of contracts held by traders -- for West Texas Intermediate has fallen to its lowest level since 2015, according to CME Group Inc. data. 

Prices:

• WTI for September delivery fell 86 cents to settle at US$99.88 a barrel at in New York
• The August contract, which expires Wednesday, fell US$1.96 to settle at US$102.26
• Brent for September settlement was 43 lower to settle at US$106.92 a barrel

Crude has fluctuated around US$100 a barrel with traders weighing demand impacts from a potential recession with a weakening dollar and a pipeline outage that has tightened the US market.