Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday after data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in gasoline inventories in the US in the week ended August 5th. Gasoline stockpiles dropped by 4.978 million barrels last week, substantially larger than the expected drop of 633,000 barrels. Further, a weak dollar and data showing increased demand for gasoline contributed as well to the surge in oil prices. The dollar index dropped to a low of 104.64 and despite recovering to 105.02, remains deep down in negative territory with a loss of about 1.25%. However, data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude oil inventories jumped by 5.458 million barrels last week, as against expectations for a rise of 73,000 barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for September delivery rose $1.43 or 1.6 percent to settle at $91.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery surged $1.09 or 1.1 percent to settle at $97.40 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.