Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, ended their meeting without making any changes to their production policy. Further, concerns about disruptions to crude supplies amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran also contributed to the rise in oil prices. However, data showing an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended March 29th, capped oil's gains. According to a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil inventories shot up by 3.2 million barrels last week, matching the surge seen in the previous week. The continued increase surprised street, who had expected crude oil inventories to fall by 1.5 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery rose $0.28 or about 0.33% to settle at $85.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery gained $0.43 or 0.48% to $89.35 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.