Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday as data showing an unexpected big jump in crude inventories outweighed possible supply disruptions due to Hurricane Milton and Middle East tensions. Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories jumped by 5.8 million barrels to 422.7 million barrels last week, nearly three times the expected increase of about 2 million barrels. The EIA data showed gasoline stockpiles dropped by 6.3 million barrels last week.
Benchmark crude oil futures for November delivery fell $0.33 or about 0.45 percent to settle at $73.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for December delivery dropped by $0.60 or about 0.78 percent to settle at $76.58 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.