On Wednesday the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that inventory rose by 15.2 million barrels for the week ending April 3. Analysts had been expecting a build of 9.67 million barrels, according to estimates from FactSet. Crude has collapsed in 2020 because of a slide in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak and excess supply. Brent dropped to $21.65, its lowest since 2002, on March 30. While OPEC sources have said a deal to cut production is conditional on the participation of the United States, doubts remain as to whether Washington will contribute.

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday U.S. output was already declining, without government action. U.S. crude production is expected to slump by 470,000 bpd and and demand is set to drop by about 1.3 million bpd in 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday. Before the OPEC and other producers’ meeting, the latest round of U.S. oil inventory data will be in focus on Wednesday.

In a sign of excess supply, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said U.S. crude inventories jumped by 11.9 million barrels.