Crude oil futures ended marginally lower on Wednesday despite US crude stocks falling more sharply than expected. Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories dropped by 7.99 million barrels last week (April 30), more than three times the expected decline. The EIA data also said US crude exports hit a record high of 4.1 million barrels per day last week.The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday that US crude stockpiles fell by 7.7 million barrels in the week ended April 30.
Crude oil futures for June lost 6 cents or 0.09 percent to settle at $65.63 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, July Brent crude added 8 cents or 0.1 percent to settle at $68.96 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.