U.S. Oil Prices Extend Losses After Crude Stocks Rise More Than Forecast

Investing.com – Crude prices extended losses on Wednesday, with the U.S. benchmark hitting its weakest level in about a week after data showed domestic oil supplies rose much more than forecast last week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories rose by in the week ended Jan. 26.

That was the first increase following ten straight weeks of declines and compared with analysts’ expectations for a much more modest gain of around 0.1 million barrels.

Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, decreased by 2.22 million barrels last week, the EIA said.

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 418.4 million barrels as of last week, which the EIA considered to be in the middle of the average range for this time of year.

The report also showed that gasoline inventories decreased by , compared to expectations for a gain of 1.8 million barrels. For distillate inventories including diesel, the EIA reported a drop of .

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) shed 44 cents, or around 0.7%, to $64.03 a barrel by 10:35AM ET (1535GMT). Prices were at around $64.28 prior to the release of the inventory data.

Meanwhile, futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., declined 40 cents, or roughly 0.6%, to $68.10 a barrel.

Oil prices have pulled away from their strongest levels since late 2014 hit last week, as traders weighed a steady increase in U.S. output against OPEC’s ongoing efforts to drain the market of excess supplies.

Analysts and traders have recently warned that U.S. shale oil producers could ramp up production as they look to take advantage of higher prices, potentially derailing OPEC’s effort to curb excess supply.

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