Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday buoyed by data showing a drop in crude inventories in the week ended October 30. According to the data released by Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories in the US fell 7.99 million barrels in the week ended October 30, against expectations for a build of 890,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories were up 1.5 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles fell by 1.585 million barrels in the week, after falling 4.491 million barrels a week earlier. A report from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed US crude inventories fell by 8 million barrels last week.
Crude oil futures for December rose $1.49 or 4% percent to settle at $39.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January Brent crude gained $0.90 or 2.3 percent to settle at $40.61 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.