Petroleum prices stumbled more than 2% on Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories sparked more than expected.
In its weekly report, the Energy Information Administration confirmed U.S. crude stocks rose by 9.4 million barrels in the previous week to a record 532.5 million barrels.
Offsetting the build was a 4.6-million-barrel decline in gasoline inventories. EIA also reported that weekly production slid by about 30,000 barrels per day.
U.S. crude futures descended $1.03 to $40.42 U.S. a barrel late morning Wednesday. Prices struck a 2016 high of $41.90 U.S. the day before.
The American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday indicated that U.S. crude inventories rose by 8.8 million barrels last week, a gain almost three times what economists predicted
