Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures edged lower to trade near a two-week trough on Wednesday, amid expectations weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories rose to the highest level on record last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in April shed 30 cents, or 0.61%, to trade at $48.98 a barrel during European morning hours.
Wednesday's government report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 4.0 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to decrease by 1.5 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 8.9 million barrels in the week ended February 20.
The report also showed that gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.6 million barrels, while distillate stocks declined by 2.4 million barrels.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil futures lost 17 cents, or 0.34%, to settle at $49.28 as lingering concerns over a supply glut in the U.S. drove down prices.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for April delivery dipped 11 cents, or 0.19%, to trade at $58.55 a barrel.
The April Brent contract slipped 24 cents, or 0.41%, on Tuesday to end at $58.66 a barrel.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $8.57 a barrel, compared to $9.38 by close of trade on Tuesday.
Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent months as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output, while the U.S. pumped at the fastest pace in more than three decades, creating a glut in global supplies.
Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to a second day of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen later Wednesday.
In prepared remarks during testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Fed Chair Yellen said it was “unlikely” that economic conditions would warrant an interest rate increase for “at least the next couple of FOMC meetings”.
She added that if the economy keeps improving as the Fed expects it will modify its forward guidance, but emphasized that a modification of its language should not be read as indicating that a rate hike would automatically happen within a number of meetings.
Yellen will address the House Financial Services Committee later on Wednesday, with market analysts expecting her to take the same stance she made before the Senate Banking Committee.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, declined 0.25% to 94.30.