Government data on Wednesday showed that USA crude stocks climbed 2 million barrels last week to an all-time peak of 540.6 million barrels.
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Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest US oil-storage hub, increased by 1.9 million barrels last week, the API reported Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the numbers.
The worldwide benchmark has risen almost 20% in April, its largest one-month gain in a year. West Texas Intermediate, the USA benchmark price for crude oil, was up 2.1 percent to start the day in NY at $44.96 per barrel.
The dollar tumbled, making oil denominated in the greenback more attractive to holders of the euro and other currencies.
Oil prices dipped in Asia today as traders took profits after costs hit a new high for the year in response to falling United States crude production.
Crude oil prices hit 2016 highs on Tuesday on the back of a rally in the gasoline market and after an industry group reported a surprise draw in USA crude stockpiles.
USA crude fell 20 cents to $45.83 a barrel, with both contracts hitting fresh 2016 highs.
“For now, the line of least price resistance remains to the upside, and we will be reassessing this view in light of tomorrow’s FOMC statement”, said Jim Ritterbusch of Chicago-based oil market consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates.
Technical analysts said crude could cruise to $50 a barrel but stiffer resistance before $55 could spark profit-taking on the market’s biggest rebound in two years.
A decline in U.S. crude oil stockpiles has pushed global oil prices to their highest since November a year ago.
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That production number is expected to show a further decline through the rest of the year, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) having estimated a 730,000 barrels a day draw in crude oil production from the U.S. this year. That would support higher prices in the coming years, as investment in oil infrastructure catches up with demand.
Record production from the USA has been blamed for a supply glut in the global crude oil markets.
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Oil prices jumped about 3 percent on Wednesday, hitting new highs for 2016 as the dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve announced it would leave US interest rates unchanged.
