Oil prices waver amid U.S. inventory data

Oil prices fluctuated Wednesday as traders meditated on a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels to a total of 528.7 million barrels last week, exceeding market consensus of 1.75 million barrels, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its weekly report Wednesday.

However, the persisted worries about a supply glut continued to weigh on the market as the EIA report showed unexpected inventory increases for U.S. gasoline and distillates.

The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery edged up 0.06 U.S. dollar to settle at 49.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery fell 0.28 dollar to close at 51.82 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem