Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday after having tumbled to a near 3-year low in the previous session. Fears of prolonged production shutdowns in the offshore oil patch due to Hurricane Francine's impact pushed up oil prices. Meanwhile, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. crept up by 0.8 million barrels in the week ended September 6th, after plunging by 6.9 million barrels in the previous week. Street had expected crude oil inventories to inch up by 0.9 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery rose $1.56 or 2.37 percent to settle at $67.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery gained $1.42 or 2.05 percent to settle at $70.61 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.