Oil prices slipped on Wednesday as Chinese crude imports fell to a one-year low, but reportedly, losses were offset by investor caution over rising political tensions in the Middle East.
Futures pared losses after government data showed gasoline and distillate inventories fell more than analysts anticipated, offsetting an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stocks as imports increased.
As morning became afternoon on Wednesday, Brent futures fell six cents to $63.63 U.S. a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 19 cents at $57.01 U.S. a barrel.
Crude inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 2.9 million barrels.
Preliminary U.S. production figures also showed weekly output rose to an all-time high of 9.62 million barrels a day, taking out the previous record set in June 2015.
Offsetting the crude build, gasoline stocks fell by 3.3 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations l for a 1.9-million-barrel drop. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, were down by 3.4 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.4-million-barrel decline.
Data released late Wednesday morning by the Energy Information Administration indicated that U.S. gasoline inventories fell to 209.5 million barrels last week, the lowest weekly level since November 2014.
