Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures extended gains in North America trade on Wednesday to hit a new seven-month high after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. fell more than expected last week.
Crude oil for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 79 cents, or 1.62%, to trade at $49.41 a barrel by 14:33GMT, or 10:33AM ET. Prices were at around $49.36 prior to the release of the inventory data after climbing to a daily peak of $49.58, the most since October 12.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended May 20. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock decline of 2.5 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply drop of 5.2 million barrels.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, fell by 649,000 barrels last week, the EIA said. Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 537.1 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 2.0 million barrels, compared to expectations for a drop of 1.1 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by 1.3 million barrels.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil futures tacked on 54 cents, or 1.12%. Nymex oil prices are up nearly 85% since falling to 13-year lows at $26.05 on February 11 as declining U.S. shale output boosted sentiment. However, with prices now at levels that make drilling economical for some firms, the oil rig count might start rising soon and the decline in U.S. production may slow.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for July delivery added 83 cents, or 1.71%, to hit $49.43 a barrel after climbing to a daily high of $49.60.
On Tuesday, London-traded Brent futures shed 37 cents, or 0.76%, as traders eyed supply disruptions in Canada, Nigeria, and Libya.
Brent futures prices are up by roughly 85% since briefly dropping below $30 a barrel in mid-February, despite the collapse of talks at a Doha summit in April aimed at achieving a production freeze among OPEC and Non-OPEC producers. OPEC meets on June 2 in Vienna and may discuss the freeze initiative again.