Oil eases after rise in US inventory

Oil eased on Wednesday after a rise in US crude inventory added to signs demand may be slowing in spite of ongoing output cuts by producer group Opec and imminent US sanctions against Iran.

Brent crude futures were last down 47 cents at $77.96 a barrel by 0937 GMT, while US crude futures were down 27 cents at $71.04 a barrel, leaving the spread between the two just shy of a 2015 high of $7 a barrel.

Physical crude markets are sagging under the weight of unsold barrels of oil, while the 50-percent rise in the oil price in the last year is encouraging major companies such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP and Total to increase output.