Investing.com - Crude oil futures retreated from a nine-month high on Wednesday to fall to the lowest levels of the session after a report from the U.S. government showed that oil supplies rose unexpectedly last week.
Investors now looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD98.55 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.1% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD99.21 a barrel, the strongest level since September 17.
Prices traded at USD98.76 a barrel prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 0.3 million barrels in the week ended June 14, confounding expectations for a decline of 0.6 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.1 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 0.2 million barrels, below expectations for an increase of 0.7 million barrels.
Market players now looked ahead to the Fed’s rate statement and press conference later in the session, amid uncertainty over future plans for monetary stimulus after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery added 0.15% to trade at USD106.19 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.64 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices hit a ten-week high of USD106.63 a barrel on June 17.
Investors now looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD98.55 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.1% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD99.21 a barrel, the strongest level since September 17.
Prices traded at USD98.76 a barrel prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 0.3 million barrels in the week ended June 14, confounding expectations for a decline of 0.6 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.1 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 0.2 million barrels, below expectations for an increase of 0.7 million barrels.
Market players now looked ahead to the Fed’s rate statement and press conference later in the session, amid uncertainty over future plans for monetary stimulus after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery added 0.15% to trade at USD106.19 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.64 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices hit a ten-week high of USD106.63 a barrel on June 17.