Oil Prices Fall After Back-To-Back Builds In Inventory

Retail sales in Germany surged 1.70% in August reaching a 13-month high and beating estimates of 0.40%, data from Destatis showed on Wednesday. However, on an annualized basis, retail sales were weaker, falling -1.50%. June's retail sales were revised to show a -0.60% decline from -0.10% declines while on an annual basis, retail sales for June were revised from 2.70% to 2.30% due to food, tobacco and beverage sales.

Private US employers continued to keep hiring workers at a steady pace. Data from payrolls processor ADP and Moody's Analytics showed on Wednesday that payrolls in the private sector increased 177k in August. It was higher than forecasts of 175k. The data for July was revised higher from 179k to 194k as well. ADP said that the services sector continued to outperform. This raises expectations for Friday's official nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which currently call for the unemployment rate to fall to 4.80% while the number of jobs is anticipated to hit 186k.