Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, extending their previous session’s gains, after the Biden administration said it would not ask US oil producers to hike output. Traders also digested data showing a smaller than expected drop in US crude inventories in the week ended August 6. Data released by US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the country dipped by 400,000 barrels last week, much smaller than an expected decline of about 1.3 million barrels. Gasoline inventories dropped by 1.4 million barrels last week versus an an expected drop of 2.4 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles increased by 1.8 million barrels compared to an expected drop of 600,000 barrels.
Crude oil futures for September rose $0.96 or 1.4 percent to settle $69.25 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude surged $0.84 or 1.2 percent to settle at $71.47 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.