Investing.com -- U.S. crude futures reversed territory on Wednesday afternoon, falling by nearly 4%, as a considerable build in gasoline inventories offset a second consecutive weekly draw in crude stockpiles.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for November delivery traded in a broad range between $44.42 and $47.15 a barrel, before closing at $44.55 down 1.81 or 3.88% on the day. At one point on Wednesday morning, Texas Long Sweet futures surged to their highest level in six days before traders pared gains in U.S. afternoon trading. Over the last month, U.S. crude futures are still up more than 12% from near six-and-a-half year lows from late-August when they fell below $38 a barrel.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for November delivery closed down by more than 2.5% at $47.81 a barrel, halting a three-session winning streak. In European afternoon trading, brent crude futures soared above $50 a barrel for the first time since Sept. 17, before falling back near the close. The spread between the international and U.S. domestic benchmarks of crude widened to $3.26, as it steadily moves off eight-month lows from last week.
On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report that U.S. crude inventories decreased by 1.9 million barrels for the week ending Sept. 18, extending a 2.1 million barrel draw from a week earlier. For the most part, energy traders anticipated a sizeable draw after the American Petroleum Institute reported a decrease of 3.7 million barrels on Tuesday after the close of trading.
At 454.0 million barrels, U.S. crude stockpiles still remain near their highest levels in at least 80 years. Motor gas inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels last week, while distillate fuel inventories decreased by 2.1 million barrels.
U.S. crude production, meanwhile, crept up on the week, ending a seven-week streak of declines. Crude output nationwide rose by 19,000 last week to 9.136 million barrels per day, following a moderate increase in Alaskan ouput. In early-June, crude production in the U.S. peaked above 9.6 million barrels per day, its highest on record in more than 40 years.
A host of major energy companies continue to express serious concerns that they will have to slow drilling activities over the next several months, as crude prices hover near multi-year lows. Earlier this month, the EIA downgraded its 2016 production outlook from 8.96 million bpd to 8.8 due primarily to the lower prices. Days later, OPEC lowered its production forecasts for non-OPEC members next year by 110,000, amid expectations of slowing growth among U.S. shale producers.
Crude futures are down more than 40% since OPEC roiled global markets last November with a strategic decision to keep its production ceiling above 30 million barrels per day. The tactic triggered a prolonged battle with the U.S. for market share, flooding global energy markets with a glut of oversupply.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, ticked down more than 0.3% to an intraday low of 96.22. Earlier, the index surged above 96.70, to reach its highest level in more than a month.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.