Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday even as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released data showing declines in US crude supplies in the past two weeks, totaling more than three 3 million barrels, excluding oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Data covering the week ended June 17, which the EIA had delayed due to systems issues, revealed a fall to 418.3 million barrels in crude supplies, from 418.7 million barrels the week before, implying a decline of roughly 400,000 barrels. Data for the week ended June 24 showed a fall of 2.8 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels, compared with an average decrease of 500,000 barrels forecast by street.
Benchmark crude oil futures for August delivery fell $1.98 or 1.8 percent to settle at $109.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery dropped $1.72 or 1.5 percent to settle at $116.26 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.