NEW YORK, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday after data showed a surge in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 0.41 dollar to settle at 65.89 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery was up 0.06 dollar to close at 74.57 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
U.S. crude oil inventories increased during the week ending April 19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Wednesday.
According to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 5.5 million barrels from the previous week.
The reading easily topped analysts' forecast of an increase of 1.3 million barrels.
The jump in U.S. crude oil inventories somewhat offset concerns over tightening supply resulting from output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, experts noted.
Oil prices gained substantial support this week after the U.S. government said it will no longer grant sanctions waivers for purchases of Iranian crude.
Washington's new move to squeeze Iran has raised concerns that it may lead to higher oil and gasoline prices.
The International Energy Agency said in a statement on Tuesday that markets are now adequately supplied, adding that it will continue to monitor the oil market closely and stands ready to act if necessary to ensure markets remain well supplied. Enditem
