WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday as the OPEC and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, ended their meeting without making any changes to their production policy.
Concerns about disruptions to crude supplies amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran also contributed to the rise in oil prices.
Data showing an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended March 29th, capped oil's gains.
According to reports, a few members of OPEC and allies by Russia, are set to continue to voluntarily cut 2.2 million barrels per day of production into the second quarter.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.28 or about 0.33% at $85.43 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $89.35 a barrel, gaining $0.43 or about 0.48%.
According to a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil inventories shot up by 3.2 million barrels last week, matching the surge seen in the previous week. The continued increase surprised economists, who had expected crude oil inventories to fall by 1.5 million barrels.
At 451.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain about 2% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
The report said gasoline inventories tumbled by 4.3 million barrels last week and are about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also fell by 1.3 million barrels and are about 7% below the five-year average for this time of year.
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