Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures trimmed losses on Wednesday, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
Crude oil for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 67 cents, or 1.56%, to trade at $42.20 a barrel during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $42.01 prior to the release of the inventory data
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories rose by 961,000 barrels in the week ended November 20.
Market analysts' expected a crude-stock rise of 1.2 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply gain of 2.6 million barrels.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, increased by 1.74 million barrels last week, above forecasts for a build of 1.0 million barrels and following a gain of 1.5 million barrels in the preceding week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 488.2 million barrels as of last week, remaining near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Gasoline inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels, compared to expectations for a gain of 1.0 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 1.0 million barrels.
A day earlier, Nymex futures jumped $1.12, or 2.68%, after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, fueling concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for January delivery slumped 77 cents, or 1.66%, to trade at $45.38 a barrel. On Tuesday, prices surged $1.29, or 2.88%.
The oil market has been on the defensive in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink.
Saudi Arabia said earlier this week that it is prepared to use all measures necessary to ensure a stable oil market. The world's biggest oil producer added that it is ready to cooperate with OPEC and non-OPEC producers in order to stabilize prices.
OPEC will meet on December 4 to review their output strategy. Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by OPEC last year not to cut production in order to defend their market share.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $3.18 a barrel, compared to $3.25 by close of trade on Tuesday.