Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday as data showed a big increase in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended February 9th. Data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the U.S. rose by 12 million barrels last week, nearly five times the expected increase. Gasoline stockpiles dropped by about 3.7 million barrels to 247.3 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles fell by 1.9 million barrels to 125.7 million barrels. The EIA data also showed that crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 710,000 barrels last week.
Benchmark crude oil futures for March delivery fell $1.23 or about 1.6% to settle at $76.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery dropped $1.17 or about 1.4% to $81.60 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.