Oil Slips on Growing Stockpile Worries as Equities Fall

Oil prices edged lower on Monday after data showing fresh builds at the delivery point for U.S. crude futures and lower Wall Street share prices offset bullish OPEC demand projections.

Crude futures have fallen about $4 a barrel over the past three sessions, partly on concerns that stockpiles of refined U.S. oil products like heating oil were also growing as refineries ramp up output as they emerge from maintenance season amid milder-than-usual weather.

Near record pumping of oil by Russia, Saudi Arabia and other big global producers has also weighed on the market.

On Monday, Brent crude futures were down 15 cents at $47.27 a barrel by 11:12 a.m. EST (1612 GMT).

U.S. crude slipped 35 cents to $43.94.

Data from market intelligence firm Genscape showed stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures rose by more than 1.8 million barrels between Oct 30 and Nov. 5, traders who saw the data said.

On Wall Street, the key U.S. stock gauge, the S&P 500 , was down 1 percent.

Oil prices were up earlier in the session after OPEC said it expected global demand to remain strong next year. Abdullah al-Badri, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said he expects the oil market will become more balanced in 2016 as demand continues to grow.

(Additional reporting by Ron Bousso and Sarah McFarlane in London and Manolo Serapio Jr. in Manila; Editing by Marguerita Choy)