Forexpros – Crude oil futures trimmed gains on Wednesday, after a government report showed U.S. crude and gasoline supplies rose last week, while markets awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting later in the day and kept a close eye on developments in Greece.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD92.97 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, gaining 0.84%.
It earlier rose by as much as 1.75% to trade at USD93.75 a barrel, the highest price since October 31.
Crude prices traded at USD93.39 prior to the release of the Energy Information Administration data.
The U.S. EIA said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels in the week ended October 28, above expectations for a 1.2 million barrel increase.
U.S. crude supplies rose by 4.7 million barrels in the preceding week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 339.5 million barrels as of last week, remaining in the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels, confounding expectations for a 0.9 million barrel drop, after falling by 1.4 million barrels in the preceding week.
Meanwhile, the Fed’s Open Market Committee was to conclude its two-day policy meeting later in the day, with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke conducting the bank’s post-meeting press conference.
Oil traders will pay close attention for any hints regarding the introduction of further stimulus measures to revive the U.S. economic recovery and bolster growth.
The U.S. dollar came under pressure ahead of the Fed’s announcement, boosting the appeal of commodities. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.49% to trade at 77.04.
Meanwhile, markets also eyed a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, scheduled for later in the day to discuss Athens’ surprise decision to vote on its latest bailout deal.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery climbed 1.05% to trade at USD110.69 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD17.72 a barrel.
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