Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday lifted by data showing a larger than expected decline US crude inventories in the week ended December 25. A weaker dollar also contributed to oil’s uptick. Data released by the Energy Information Administration showed crude inventories in the US fell by 6.1 million barrels last week, significantly more than an expected drop of about 3.8 million barrels. A report released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday said US crude inventories dropped by 4.79 million barrels last week to 492.9 million barrels, much bigger than an expected drop of about 3.1 million barrels.
Crude oil futures for February rose $0.40 or 0.8 percent to settle at $48.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February Brent crude gained $0.27 or 0.52 percent to settle at $51.50 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.