2021.11.2419:41:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Marginally Down As Inventories Rise

Crude oil futures settled slightly lower on Wednesday after data showed a modest increase in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week ended November 19th.

Investors continued to weigh the impact of an announcement from the U.S. that it would release 50 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The U.S.' decision came after OPEC+ producers repeatedly ignored calls for more crude output.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures ended down by $0.11 or 0.14% at $78.39 a barrel.

Brent crude futures settled at $82.25 per barrel, down $0.06 or 0.7% from the previous session.

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. increased by 1.017 million barrels last week, more than twice the expected increase.

The data showed gasoline inventories dropped by 603,000 barrels last week, more than an expected draw of 461,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, distillate stockpiles dropped by 1.968 million barrels in the week nearly twice an expected drop of 1.002 million barrels.

American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that crude inventories in the U.S. rose by 2.31 million barrels in the week ending November 19.