Investing.com - Crude oil futures declined on Wednesday, amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories rose at a faster pace than expected last week and as Saudi Arabia ended its air campaign in Yemen.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for June delivery hit an intraday low of $55.74 a barrel, the weakest level since April 15, before trading at $55.99 during European morning hours, down 62 cents, or 1.1%. A day earlier, Nymex oil prices tumbled $1.27, or 2.19%, to end at $56.61.
Wednesday's government report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to decline by 0.7 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories increased by 5.5 million barrels in the week ended April 17, accelerating from a gain of 2.6 million in the preceding week.
The report also showed that gasoline stockpiles rose by 1.1 million barrels, while distillate stocks increased by 1.7 million barrels.
U.S. oil futures have been well-supported in recent sessions due to mounting expectations that U.S. shale oil production has peaked and may start falling in the coming months amid an ongoing collapse in rigs drilling for oil.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 26 last week to 734, the lowest since 2010. It was the 19th straight week of declines.
Market players have been paying close attention to the shrinking rig count in recent months for signs it will eventually reduce the glut of crude flowing into the market.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for June delivery dipped 32 cents, or 0.51%, to trade at $61.77 a barrel after touching a daily low of $61.40, a level not seen since April 15. On Tuesday, London-traded Brent futures dropped $1.37, or 2.16%, to settle at $62.08.
Saudi Arabia ended its month-long air strike campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday, easing concerns that violence could spread across the region and affect oil production.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $5.78 a barrel, compared to $5.47 by close of trade on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.3% to trade at 97.91 early on Wednesday.
Concerns over the lack of an agreement on economic reforms for bailout funds between Greece and its creditors remained in focus, fuelling fears that the country could default on its debt be forced out of the euro zone.