2019.06.2615:21:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures Settle Sharply Higher After Inventory Data

Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday, lifted by data showing a much bigger than expected fall in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week ended June 21.

Rising geopolitical tensions and likelihood of OPEC and allies extending output cuts beyond July contributed as well to oil's sharp uptick.

The commodity was also weighed down by reports about an outage at a refinery on the U.S. East Coast.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended up $1.55, or 2.7%, at $59.38 a barrel.

On Tuesday, WTI crude futures settled at $57.83 a barrel, losing $0.07, after closing at $57.90 a day earlier, the highest settlement since May 29, 2019.

Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning showed crude oil inventories dropped by as much as 12.79 million barrels in the week to June 21, about five times more than expected fall.

The EIA report also showed gasoline inventories declined by 1 million barrels last week, as against expectations for a 0.29 million barrels increase. Distillate stockpiles fell as well, dropping by about 2.4 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a modest increase.

A report released by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday said U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 7.5 million barrels in the week ended June 21 to 474.5 million, compared with analyst expectations for a decline of 2.5 million barrels. Crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 1.3 million barrels.