Oil prices slipped today for a third straight day as Fed officials rekindled worries about oil demand by indicating interest rate cuts may be deferred longer than expected. Minutes released today from the Feds last meeting indicated they believe inflation could take longer to ease then previously thought. Crude stocks rose last week by 1.8MM/bbls vs a forecasted draw of 2.5MM/bbls. Crude markets have been pressured by weakening fundamentals, such as falling spot Brent over futures and softer refinery margins. This will likely force OPEC+ to extend production cuts at its June meeting to support prices, according to Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy. WTI traded down $1.09 or 1.39% to close at $77.57. Brent traded down $.98 or -1.18% to close at $81.90.