Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, magnifying their previous session’s gains. Concerns about potential supply disruptions due to escalation in geopolitical tensions supported oil prices. However, gains were limited as data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that crude inventories in the U.S. increased by 5.5 million barrels in the week ended February 2nd, nearly three times the expected increase of 1.9 million barrels. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute said in its weekly report on Tuesday that crude oil inventories rose by 674,000 barrels in the week to February 2, much less than an expected increase of 2.13 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for March delivery surged $0.55 or about 0.75% to settle at $73.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery rose $0.62 or about 0.78% to $79.21 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.