Oil slips on rising US output

• US oil stocks rise by 2.4 mln barrels to 480.2 mln last week.
• US-Iran tensions will likely restrict downside in oil prices. 

Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic fell on Wednesday after industry showed an uptick in US crude oil production.

Brent crude fell 0.30% to 471.75 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped lower by 0.54% to $62.61 per barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute(API) said on Tuesday that US crude inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels last week, to 480.2 million barrels, topping the expectations for a decrease of 599,000 barrels by a big margin, according to Reuters news.

The black gold may further drop later today if the US Energy Information Administration's reports a big jump in the oil stockpiles.

The price dip, however, could be short-lived, courtesy of escalating tensions between the US and Iran. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened Iran with "great force" if it attacked US interests in the Middle East. Further, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said threats from Iran remained high.