Crude prices fall as report reveals U.S. oil supplies are on rise

Crude prices fall as report reveals U.S. oil supplies are on rise

Investing.com – Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday after official data revealed that U.S. inventories rose last week and caught many investors who were predicting a decline off guard.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD102.55 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 0.56%.�

The November contract settled down 0.44% at USD103.13 a barrel on Tuesday.

The commodity hit a session low of USD102.51 and a high of USD103.96.

The Energy Information Administration said that crude oil stockpiles rose by 2.64 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 20, defying expectations for a 1.13 million decline after a 4.37 million barrel drop in the previous week.�

Gasoline inventories rose by 217,000 barrels last week, exceeding expectations for a 143,000 rise.�

The data sent oil prices falling on concerns the U.S. is awash in crude.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 540,000 million last week compared to expectations for a decline of 1.5 million barrels, which curbed losses.

The API also said gasoline stockpiles increased by 341,000 barrels�

Separately, reports that Libyan oil production is on the rise after protesters reopened access to facilities also added to the selling pressure, as did talk that oil output in Nigeria is recovering.

Thawing tensions between the U.S. and Iran dampened prices as well by allaying fears that a U.S.-led attack on Iranian ally Syria will embroil the Middle East and threaten global supply.

Countries in the Middle East and Africa were responsible for nearly 35% of global oil production in 2012.

Meanwhile on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery were down 0.14% at USD108.49 a barrel, up USD5.94 from its U.S. counterpart.