NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday as official data showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a weekly report on Wednesday that the country's crude stocks fell by 5.3 million barrels last week, exceeding market expectations.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles climbed by 6.2 million barrels, according to the EIA.
A weaker U.S. dollar also made the greenback-priced commodity more attractive to holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.47 percent to 94.8035 at 3:00 p.m. (1900 GMT).
The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery jumped 1.12 U.S. dollars to settle at 70.37 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and the Brent crude for November delivery added 0.68 dollar to 79.74 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem
