Crude oil prices pared back gains on Wednesday after the latest U.S.
storage data showed a larger than expected domestic inventory build last
week.
Nymex crude oil for November delivery was last at $48.63 a barrel, down from around $49.52 ahead of the report. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the November Brent contract was last at $52.22 a barrel, up 0.65% for the day.
In its weekly report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories climbed by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended October 2. Market strategists meanwhile expected a more modest crude-stock rise of 2.2 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stayed at 461.0 million barrels as of last week, soaring near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
The data also signaled that gasoline inventories rose by 1.9 million barrels, compared to expectations for a rise of 0.47 million barrels.
U.S. oil prices jumped on Tuesday, ending the session up 4.91% after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 1.2M barrel decline in crude stocks last week, which added to the view that market supply is tightening.
Crude got an additional boost after the EIA said in its monthly short-term energy outlook on Tuesday that global oil demand is expected to average 93.79 million barrels a day this year, up from 93.62 million in September.
The EIA also trimmed its forecasts for the global crude production this year and in 2016.
