Investing.com - Crude oil futures were lower on Wednesday, holding on to losses after a U.S. government report showed oil supplies fell less-than-expected last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at USD95.06 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 1.1% on the day.
Prices traded at USD95.40 a barrel prior to the release of the supply data.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 1.5% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD94.70 a barrel, the weakest level since May 16.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 0.3 million barrels in the week ended May 17, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.8 million 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 3.0 million barrels, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Oil prices briefly came off the lows of the session after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a premature tightening of monetary policy carried substantial risks to the economic recovery.
In prepared testimony to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee in Washington, Bernanke said accommodative monetary policy was providing significant benefits to the economic recovery and reiterated that the bank’s asset purchase program will remain in place for as long as is necessary.
The minutes of the Fed’s May meeting are to be released later in the trading day.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery shed 0.8% to trade at USD103.10 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD8.04 a barrel.
The gap between the contracts narrowed to the lowest level since January 2011 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at USD95.06 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 1.1% on the day.
Prices traded at USD95.40 a barrel prior to the release of the supply data.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 1.5% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD94.70 a barrel, the weakest level since May 16.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 0.3 million barrels in the week ended May 17, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.8 million 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 3.0 million barrels, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Oil prices briefly came off the lows of the session after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a premature tightening of monetary policy carried substantial risks to the economic recovery.
In prepared testimony to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee in Washington, Bernanke said accommodative monetary policy was providing significant benefits to the economic recovery and reiterated that the bank’s asset purchase program will remain in place for as long as is necessary.
The minutes of the Fed’s May meeting are to be released later in the trading day.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery shed 0.8% to trade at USD103.10 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD8.04 a barrel.
The gap between the contracts narrowed to the lowest level since January 2011 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.