Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell towards the lowest level in more than six years on Wednesday, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose unexpectedly last week.
Crude oil for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 90 cents, or 2.1%, to trade at $42.22 a barrel during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $42.63 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 2.6 million barrels in the week ended August 14.
Market analysts' expected a crude-stock fall of 0.8 million, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 2.3 million barrels.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, increased by 326,000 barrels last week, following a drop of 51,000 barrels in the preceding week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 456.2 million barrels as of last week, remaining near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories decreased by 2.7 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 0.6 million barrels.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil futures hit $41.43, the weakest level since March 2009, as worries over high domestic U.S. oil production weighed.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. increased by two last week to 672, the fourth straight weekly gain.
There are still about 60% fewer rigs working since a peak of 1,609 in October, though the pace of declines has slowed considerably in recent weeks, fueling concerns that U.S. shale production could rebound in the months ahead.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for October delivery slumped 45 cents, or 0.91%, to trade at $48.37 a barrel.
On Tuesday, London-traded Brent prices fell to $48.25, the lowest level since January 14, before closing at $48.81, up 7 cents, or 0.14%.
Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year not to cut production.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $6.15 a barrel, compared to $5.69 by close of trade on Tuesday.