Investing.com - Oil prices dropped in U.S. trading on Wednesday after official data revealed that gasoline stockpiles rose way more than expected last week, prompting fears less motorists will hit the road during the U.S. summer driving season.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 1.88% at USD94.37 a barrel on Wednesday, off from a session high of USD96.19 and up from an earlier session low of USD94.23.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 338,000 barrels in the week ended May 17, compared to expectations for a decline of 778,000 barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.6 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.02 million barrels, well above expectations for an increase of 22,000 barrels, which sent crude prices falling on fears less Americans may be traveling this summer.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
A stronger dollar weakened oil prices as well.
In prepared testimony in Congress earlier, Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was providing "significant benefits" to the economic recovery and reiterated that the bank’s asset-purchasing program will remain in place for now.
Afterwards, Bernanke said the U.S. central bank may scale back its stimulus measures "in the next few meetings" if the labor market makes noted improvements, which strengthened the U.S. dollar.
Stimulus measures, such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, weaken the dollar by flooding the economy full of liquidity to keep interest rates low and encourage investing and hiring, and talk of their dismantling tends to strengthen the U.S. currency.
A stronger greenback makes oil a less attractive commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.
Also strengthening the dollar was the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting, which revealed that some policymakers favored winding down stimulus measures in June.
Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were down 1.29% at USD102.57 a barrel, up USD8.20 from its U.S. counterpart.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 1.88% at USD94.37 a barrel on Wednesday, off from a session high of USD96.19 and up from an earlier session low of USD94.23.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 338,000 barrels in the week ended May 17, compared to expectations for a decline of 778,000 barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.6 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.02 million barrels, well above expectations for an increase of 22,000 barrels, which sent crude prices falling on fears less Americans may be traveling this summer.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
A stronger dollar weakened oil prices as well.
In prepared testimony in Congress earlier, Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was providing "significant benefits" to the economic recovery and reiterated that the bank’s asset-purchasing program will remain in place for now.
Afterwards, Bernanke said the U.S. central bank may scale back its stimulus measures "in the next few meetings" if the labor market makes noted improvements, which strengthened the U.S. dollar.
Stimulus measures, such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, weaken the dollar by flooding the economy full of liquidity to keep interest rates low and encourage investing and hiring, and talk of their dismantling tends to strengthen the U.S. currency.
A stronger greenback makes oil a less attractive commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.
Also strengthening the dollar was the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting, which revealed that some policymakers favored winding down stimulus measures in June.
Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were down 1.29% at USD102.57 a barrel, up USD8.20 from its U.S. counterpart.