2019.05.0815:26:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures Settle Notably Higher After Inventory Data

Crude oil prices closed higher on Wednesday, rebounding from losses posted in the previous session, after official data showed an unexpected jump in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended May 3.

Worries about prospects of a fall in energy demand due to the ongoing trade spat between the U.S. and China limited oil's gains.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up $0.72, or 1.2%, at $62.12 a barrel.

On Tuesday, crude oil futures for June ended down $0.85, or 1.4%, at $61.40 a barrel.

According to the data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning, crude inventories in the U.S. fell by 4 million barrels in the week to May 3, much more than an expected increase of 1.2 million barrels.

The EIA report said gasoline stocks declined by 596,000 barrels in the week, while distillate inventories dropped by 159,000 barrels.

The jump in inventories was due to a sharp decline in imports.

Meanwhile, on the trade front, the U.S. is set to raise tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from this Friday.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to travel to Washington for two days of trade talks with U.S. officials this week.

Oil is finding some support due to the ongoing U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, higher crude imports by China and lower output from OPEC.

China's imports rose for the first time in five months in April, while exports unexpectedly shrank 2.7% from a year earlier.

China's crude oil imports in April hit a record high of 10.68 million barrels per day, rebounding from 9.3 million barrels per day in March, preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

OPEC, Russia and other producers are scheduled to meet in June to decide their output policy for the rest of the year.