Investing.com -- U.S. crude futures turned positive late in Wednesday's session after dipping below a key technical level of $40 a barrel for the first time since late-August, following a modest build in crude inventories last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for December delivery traded between $39.92 and $41.53 a barrel before settling at $40.77, up 0.09 or 0.23% on the session. At one point on Wednesday, the front month contract for U.S. crude futures slumped to its lowest level since August 27. Over the last month of trading, Texas Long Sweet futures have lost approximately 10% in value. WTI crude is now approaching six and a half year lows from Aug. 24 when it plummeted below $38 a barrel.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for January delivery wavered between $43.34 and $44.74 a barrel before closing at $44.16, up 0.59 or 1.34% on the day. It marked just the fourth time North Sea brent futures have closed in the green during the month of November. Since closing October around $50 a barrel, brent futures have crashed by more than 11%.
On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude stockpiles nationwide increased by 0.3 million barrels last week for the week ending on Nov. 13. While analysts forecasted a build of 1.6 million barrels for the week, energy traders had prepared for a possible draw after the American Petroleum Institute reported a decrease of 482,000 on Tuesday evening.
At 487.3 million barrels, U.S. commercial crude inventories still remain near levels not seen in at least the last 80 years. For the week, distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.8 million barrels while motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.0 million barrels.
U.S. crude output, meanwhile, fell by 3,000 barrels to 9.182 million barrels per day halting a seven-week streak of production gains.
Energy traders also kept a close eye on developments abroad after French authorities detained seven terrorist suspects and killed two others in raids on Wednesday in St. Denis. Last week, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks in Paris that claimed the lives of more than 120 civilians and wounded at least 350 more. In response, France, Russia and the U.S. have bombarded Syria with a shower of air assaults this week, including a variety of attacks on ISIS controlled oilfields in East Syria. A prolonged conflict between ISIS and the major powers could threaten oil supply levels in the region.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, reached a seven-month high of 99.96, climbing to mere percentage points of the 100 threshold. The index has not moved above 100 since March 17.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.