Crude oil futures ended sharply lower on Wednesday as worries about a drop in gasoline demand and data showing a surge in oil production by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members. Crude oil production from OPEC rose by about 950,000 barrels per day in August, as the cartel continued to relax its production cuts. Oil prices fell despite a steep drop in US crude inventories last week. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude inventories fell by 9.4 million barrels for the week ended August 28, marking a sixth weekly decline in a row. The latest data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late Tuesday showed that US crude inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels in the week to August 28.
Crude oil futures for October fell $1.25 or 2.9 percent to settle at $41.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. November Brent crude declined $1.15 or 2.5 percent to settle at $44.43 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
