09:03 AM EDT, 05/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil traded at a two-month low early on Wednesday after a report showed an unexpected rise in US oil inventories last week, a sign demand remains low ahead of the start of the US driving season that begins on the Memorial Day weekend.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery was last seen down US$0.76 to US$77.90 per barrel, the lowest since March 12, while July Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down US$0.83 to US$82.05 per barrel.

The drop comes after the American Petroleum Institute's weekly survey showed US oil inventories rose by 2.5-million barrels last week, while the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Investing.com called for a 3.1-million barrel drop in stocks. The Energy Information Administration will release official data later on Wednesday.

The rise in stocks is likely to increase the market's focus on the June 1 OPEC+ ministerial meeting, which will consider whether to extend 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts set to expire on June 30 into the third quarter or beyond. Weak prices and rising inventories may convince the group to roll the cuts forward to avoid adding additional supply to the market.

"A lot can happen in ten days, especially in these itchy trigger-finger climes, but at present the current affairs surrounding oil prices could not tolerate re-instated crude supply from the cartel," PVM Oil Associates said in a Tuesday note.