Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures rose to the highest levels of the session on Wednesday, despite data showing that oil supplies in the U.S. rose to the highest level on record last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for May delivery tacked on 85 cents, or 1.79%, to trade at $48.45 a barrel during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $47.95 prior to the release of the inventory data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.8 million barrels in the week ended March 27, compared to expectations for an increase of 4.2 million barrels.
While the increase was larger than expected, it came in below the 5.2 million barrel build reported by the American Petroleum Institute after markets closed on Tuesday.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 471.4 million barrels as of last week, the most in at least 80 years, underling concerns over a supply glut.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for May delivery climbed 70 cents, or 1.28%, to trade at $55.82 a barrel.
Talks between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear program missed its deadline on Tuesday, but officials have agreed to continue talks in Switzerland for an extra day.
The west wants Iran to accept restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of international sanctions.
Any sign of a deal between Iran and world powers could result in a flood of Iranian crude returning to an already oversupplied market.
Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent months as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output, while the U.S. pumped at the fastest pace in more than three decades, creating a glut in global supplies.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $7.37 a barrel, compared to $7.51 by close of trade on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.3% to 98.38.
The dollar was pressured after reports showing that U.S. manufacturing activity slowed last month while the U.S. private sector added fewer-than-expected jobs tempered expectations for higher interest rates.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to a 14-month low of 51.5 in March from February’s 52.9. Economist had expected the index to tick down to 52.5.
The reports came on the heels of the latest ADP nonfarm payrolls report, which showed that the U.S. private sector added 189,000 jobs last month, below economists' expectations for jobs growth of 225,000 and the lowest since January 2014.
Investors now turned their attention to Friday’s U.S. employment report for February for further indications on the future path of monetary policy.
A strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls report was likely to add to speculation over when the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates, while a weak number could weigh on the dollar by undermining the argument for an early rate hike.