Crude-oil futures waded deeper into the red Wednesday after the government reported a surprise increase in inventories.
Oil for October delivery retreated 88 cents U.S., or 1.2% to $70.83 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil was off about 0.2% before the report.
The Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 4.1 million barrels to the nation's oil stockpiles for the week ended Aug. 20. Gasoline inventories rose 2.3 million barrels, while distillates inventories rose 1.8 million.
Analysts surveyed by Platts expected an increase of around 1.1 million barrels for oil, and gasoline stocks were seen down 875,000 barrels.
Stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, were expected to go up by 950,000 barrels
