Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil extended losses in North American trade on Wednesday, after data showed that while oil supplies in the U.S. fell slightly more than expected, both gasoline and distillate stockpiles rose by much more than forecast.
Crude oil for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 72 cents, or 1.1%, to trade at $64.80 a barrel by 10:32AM ET (14:32GMT) compared to $65.39 ahead of the report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories fell by 2.072 million barrels in the week ended June 1. Market analysts' had expected a crude-stock draw of 2.000 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 2.03 million.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, decreased by 0.955 million barrels last week, the EIA said. Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 436.5 million barrels as of last week, according to press release, which the EIA indicated was “in the lower half of the average range for this time of year”.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 4.603 million barrels compared to expectations for a build of 0.587 million, while distillate stockpiles rose by 2.165 million barrels compared to forecasts for a gain of 0.784 million.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery fell by 68 cents, or around 0.5% to $74.87 by 10:38AM ET (14:38GMT), compared to $75.39 before the release.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the WTI crude contract stood at $10.10 a barrel 10:39AM ET (14:39GMT), compared to a gap of $9.86 by close of trade on Wednesday.
The premium has doubled to more than $10 in less than a month, remaining near three-year highs, as a lack of pipeline capacity in the United States has trapped a lot of output inland.
Prices in recent sessions have declined on concerns that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members led by Russia would decide to lift output by up to 1 million barrels a day as early as this month in reaction to lost supplies out of Venezuela and Iran.
OPEC is scheduled to hold its next meeting in Vienna on June 22.