Crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased last week against expectations, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday, which later caused oil prices to trim their gains.
Crude stocks rose 1.6 million barrels, or 0.3 percent, to reach 535.5 million barrels for the week ending March 31, the EIA said.
The market expectation for the inventories was a decline of 0.4 million barrels.
Oil prices have been on the rise since last week with anticipation that OPEC and Russia would continue to curb their production in the second half of this year as well.
International benchmark Brent crude price climbed above $55 per barrel on Wednesday, and American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading close to $52 a barrel.
However, after weekly crude stocks increased in the U.S. unexpectedly, Brent fell to $54.11 a barrel, and WTI declined to $50.90 per barrel at 15.20 GMT on Wednesday.
'The growth in crude stocks last week was partially due to a rise in U.S. oil production,' Thomas Pugh, a commodities economist at London-based Capital Economics, said in a note.
Domestic oil output increased by 52,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.2 million bpd, for the week ending March 31, according to the EIA.
Oil imports, on the other hand, decreased by 374,000 bpd to 7.8 million bpd during that period, the EIA said.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr