Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell to more than two-week lows on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session as concerns that crude oil supplies could continue to rise dramatically as U.S. oil production continues to increase.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures for delivery in June were down 0.43% to $101.31, the lowest price since April 8. The May contract expired at the close of trade on Tuesday.
Investors were looking ahead to the weekly Energy Information Administration report on U.S. crude stockpiles, scheduled for release later in the trading day, in order to gauge the demand outlook in the world\'s largest energy consumer.
Analysts were expecting the report to show a 2.27 million barrel increase in oil inventories last week, while gasoline inventories were expected to have declined.
Last week the EIA reported that crude oil inventories rose by a larger than forecast 10.01 million barrels in the week ended April 11. It was the largest one-week increase in U.S. oil stockpiles in 13 years.
Total domestic oil supplies stood just 3.4 million barrels below the peak reached in May 2013 as of last week.
A report from the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday showed U.S. oil inventories rose by 519,000 barrels last week, while gasoline stocks fell by 3.4 million barrels and distillate stocks increased by 570,000 barrels.
Meanwhile, Brent oil for June delivery edged up 0.07% to $109.35 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $8.04.
Brent crude remained supported above the $109 level as investors weighed concerns over ongoing unrest in eastern Ukraine and data from China showing that the decline in manufacturing activity slowed this month.
Data released on Wednesday showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.3 this month, up slightly from a final reading of 48.0 in March, but still below the 50 line separating expansion from contraction.