Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures edged lower on Wednesday, amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories rose at a faster pace than expected last week.
Crude oil for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 27 cents, or 0.56%, to trade at $47.63 a barrel during European morning hours.
A day earlier, Nymex oil surged $1.76, or 3.81%, tracking strong gains in gasoline and diesel prices.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 10:30AM ET Wednesday. The data was expected to show that crude inventories rose by 2.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to decline by 1.0 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.8 million barrels in the week ended October 30.
Despite a tighter production outlook in the U.S., total crude inventories stood near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for December delivery declined 48 cents, or 0.95%, to trade at $50.06 a barrel. On Tuesday, Brent prices jumped $1.75, or 3.59%.
The oil market has been volatile in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink.
Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year not to cut production.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $2.43 a barrel, compared to $2.65 by close of trade on Tuesday.