Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday on concerns any further policy tightening by the Fed could hurt growth and significantly curb energy demand. Crude oil prices fell despite data showing a sharp fall in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended April 15. Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories fell 4.6 million barrels last week, more than four times the expected drop, to 466 million barrels. The data said crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve dropped by 1.6 million barrels last week to about 368 million barrels, the lowest level since October 1983. Gasoline stockpiles increased by 1.3 million barrels last week, as against an expected drop of about 1.3 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by 400,000 barrels in the week, substantially less than an expected decline of about 900,000 barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery fell $1.70 or 2.1 percent to settle at $79.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery dropped $1.65 or almost 2 percent to settle at $83.12 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.