Crude oil prices were down on Wednesday with the expectation of another increase in US crude inventories.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $30.71 per barrel at 06:17 GMT for a 0.84% loss after it closed Tuesday at $30.97 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $24.24 a barrel at the same time for a 1.3% decline after ending the previous day at $24.56 per barrel.

Crude oil inventories in the US are expected to increase by 8.44 million barrels for the week ending May 1, according to the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) estimate on Tuesday.