WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite data showing a drop in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended September 13th, and a 50-basis point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, oil futures settled lower on Wednesday.
Some profit taking by traders contributed to the drop in oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended down $0.28 or 0.39% at $70.91 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down $0.56 or about 0.76% at $73.14 a barrel a little while ago.
Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels last week after rising by 0.8 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to edge down by 0.1 million barrels.
At 417.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA added.
Meanwhile, the report said gasoline inventories crept up by 0.1 million barrels last week and are only slightly below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also inched up by 0.1 million barrels last week but are about 9% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The U.S. central bank today announced the widely expected decision to lower interest rates for the first time in over four years, aggressively slashing rates by half a percentage point.
With the Fed saying officials have gained greater confidence inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2% target, the central bank lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75 to 5%.
Fed officials also expect to continue lowering rates next year, with the projections indicating rates will by lower another full percentage point by the end of 2025.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
