Investing.com - U.S. oil futures held on to steep losses on Wednesday, after a government report showed that U.S. oil supplies rose more-than-expected last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD92.47 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 1.3%.
Nymex oil prices traded at USD92.25 a barrel prior to the release of the supply data.
New York-traded oil futures fell to a session low of USD92.05 a barrel earlier, the lowest since June 3. The January contract settled 0.44% lower at USD93.68 a barrel on Tuesday.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD91.37 a barrel, the low from June 3 and resistance at USD94.69 a barrel, the high from November 26.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels in the week ended November 22, significantly above expectations for an increase of 600,000 barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 391.4 million barrels, the highest since June.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels, compared to expectations for a gain of 260,000 barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 6.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles increased 200,000 barrels.
U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns over rising U.S. inventories and increased production levels.
Meanwhile, investors digested a flurry of mixed U.S. economic data.
The University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0. Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area expanded at a faster rate than expected in November.
Earlier Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The data did little to alter expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to taper stimulus at one of its next few meetings.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for January delivery inched down 0.02% to trade at USD110.86 a barrel. The spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD18.39 a barrel, the widest since March.
Oil traders remained skeptical about how quickly Iran can ramp up production and increase its exports following a diplomatic deal reached between Western powers and Tehran.
Trade sanctions slapped on Iran due to its alleged nuclear ambitions have taken out more than 1 million barrels of oil per day from the global market over the past two years.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD92.47 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 1.3%.
Nymex oil prices traded at USD92.25 a barrel prior to the release of the supply data.
New York-traded oil futures fell to a session low of USD92.05 a barrel earlier, the lowest since June 3. The January contract settled 0.44% lower at USD93.68 a barrel on Tuesday.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD91.37 a barrel, the low from June 3 and resistance at USD94.69 a barrel, the high from November 26.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels in the week ended November 22, significantly above expectations for an increase of 600,000 barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 391.4 million barrels, the highest since June.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels, compared to expectations for a gain of 260,000 barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 6.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles increased 200,000 barrels.
U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns over rising U.S. inventories and increased production levels.
Meanwhile, investors digested a flurry of mixed U.S. economic data.
The University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0. Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area expanded at a faster rate than expected in November.
Earlier Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The data did little to alter expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to taper stimulus at one of its next few meetings.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for January delivery inched down 0.02% to trade at USD110.86 a barrel. The spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD18.39 a barrel, the widest since March.
Oil traders remained skeptical about how quickly Iran can ramp up production and increase its exports following a diplomatic deal reached between Western powers and Tehran.
Trade sanctions slapped on Iran due to its alleged nuclear ambitions have taken out more than 1 million barrels of oil per day from the global market over the past two years.