Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday amid concerns about possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions in the Middle East, and on data showing a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended July 26th. Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories slumped by 3.4 million barrels last week after tumbling by 3.7 million barrels in the previous week. Street had expected crude oil inventories to dip by 1.6 million barrels.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery rose $3.18 or about 4.3% to $77.91 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery surged $2.77 or 3.6% to $80.84 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.