Reversing intraday losses, oil prices settled higher Wednesday despite a government report that showed U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose a higher-than-expected 4.67 million barrels last week.
The turnaround came after a Federal Reserve report said the economy grew a bit more slowly from early July to mid-August, a finding that could influence the central bank’s decision on whether to hike interest rates this month. The results extended the sharp volatility that has marked recent oil market trading.
The inventory increase, the largest since April, boosted stockpiles to 455.4 million barrels, keeping the supply near levels the U.S. Energy Information Administration report said had not been seen at this time of year in at least the last eight decades.
The increase far surpassed the roughly 100,000-barrel jump that had been forecast by financial analysts.
U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.4 million barrels per day during the week that ended Friday, down 269,000 barrels per day from the prior week’s average, the weekly EIA report said.
Agencies
