Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday after data showed a larger than expected drop in US crude inventories last week. Data from US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed US crude stockpiles dropped by 6.42 million barrels last week (September, 10) to 417.4 million barrels. The drop in the week was much larger than an estimate declined of 3.5 million barrels. EIA data showed distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.688 million barrels in the week. Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed that crude oil inventories fell 5.44 million barrels last week. Besides, reports saying that about 30% of oil production and 40% of natural-gas production in the Gulf of Mexico still remains shutdown due to the impact of Hurricane Ida also contributed to oil’s rally.
Crude oil futures gained $2.15 or 3.1% to settle at $72.61 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. November Brent crude surged $1.86 or 2.5 percent to settle at $75.46 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.