2019.12.1119:17:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Lower On Unexpected Jump In Inventories

Crude oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, after data showed a surprise increase in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended December 7.

Worries about outlook for crude demand in the near term amid the ongoing uncertainty about U.S.-China trade deal, and slowing global growth weighed on the commodity.

Also, investors made cautious moves as they awaited clarity on whether the U.S. will impose additional 15% tariffs on Chinese goods worth around $160 billion from December 15th are decide to delay implementing the tariffs.

West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures for January ended down $0.48, or about 0.8%, at $58.76 a barrel.

Brent crude oil futures settled lower by $0.62, or 1%, at $63.72 a barrel.

On Tuesday, WTI Crude oil futures for January ended up $0.22, or about 0.4%, at $59.24 a barrel.

Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning said crude inventories in the U.S. rose 822,000 barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.8 million-barrel drop.

The EIA said that crude stocks, at 447.9 million barrels, were about 4% higher than the five-year average for this time of the year.

The EIA report also said stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, fell 3.4 million barrels last week, registering their biggest decline since February 2018.

Meanwhile, inventories of gasoline jumped 5.4 million barrels and distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, rose 4.1 million barrels last week, significantly higher than expected levels.

The American Petroleum Institute's report, released late Tuesday, showed U.S. crude supplies rose by 1.4 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 6 to 447 million, while analysts were expecting a fall of 2.8 million barrels.