U.S. Crude Oil Futures Rise After API Report

U.S. crude oil futures increased in post-settlement trading on Wednesday following an unexpected decrease in weekly domestic crude stocks reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Crude Oil WTI Futures, the benchmark for the U.S., traded recently at $70.67 a barrel after settling down 0.3% at $70.39 a barrel.

According to the API, U.S. crude inventories dropped by approximately 10.9 million barrels for the week ending October 11, contrasting with a build of 10.9 million barrels reported the previous week. Economists had anticipated a build of around 3.2 million barrels.

Additionally, gasoline stockpiles decreased by about 5.9 million barrels, while distillate inventories—which include diesel and heating oil—fell by 2.7 million barrels.

The official government inventory report is scheduled for release on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).