Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday after official data showed crude inventories in the U.S. rose more than expected in the week ended November 1st. The dollar's rise following Donald Trump's victory in the Presidential Election weighed as well on oil prices. The dollar index climbed to 105.44 this morning, and despite easing to 105.00, remains firm with a strong gain of more than 1.5%. Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories climbed by 2.1 million barrels last week, after edging down by 0.5 million barrels in the previous week. Street had expected crude oil inventories to rise by 1.8 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for December delivery fell $0.30 or about 0.42 percent to settle at $71.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery surged $0.47 or about 0.63 percent to settle at $75.06 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.