Crude oil futures ended higher for fourth straight session on Wednesday after data showed a drop in US crude inventories in the week ended May 21. Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories in the US dropped by 1.662 million barrels last week, bigger than an expected draw of about 1.05 million barrels. EIA also showed gasoline inventories were down by 1.745 million barrels, and distillate stockpiles declined by 3.013 million barrels in the week. The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a draw in crude oil inventories of 439,000 barrels for the week ended May 21.
Crude oil futures for July gained 14 cents or 0.2 to settle at $66.21 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July Brent crude rose 16 cents or 0.3 percent to settle at 68.87 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.