Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, extending their previous session’s gains, amid concerns about a possible supply shortage after China relaxed Covid restrictions and OPEC warned it would be impossible to replace supply losses from Russia. Oil prices moved higher despite data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing a much larger than expected jump in US crude inventories in the week ended April 9. Data from EIA showed crude inventories increased by 9.382 million barrels last week, versus an expected increase of about 0.863 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery rose $3.65 or 3.6 percent to settle at $104.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery surged $4.25 or 4.1 percent to settle at $108.89 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.