WTI, Brent Futures Hover Near $45 Despite Crude Stockpile

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U.S. crude prices ended a three day slide and settled slightly higher despite lingering concern over a supply build up, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures added 13 cents, or 0.3%, to reach $43.78 a barrel.

July Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, ended down 35 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $44.62 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Exchange, after reaching a high of $46.01 a barrel earlier in the day.

Crude futures came under pressure following a U.S. Department of Energy report indicating a larger-than-expected weekly increase of crude stockpiles, with inventories increasing by 2.8 million barrels for the week ended April 29—a new weekly record. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected U.S. stockpiles to rise by 1.2 million barrels last week, according to the Bloomberg report.

June natural gas gained 5.5 cents, or 2.6%, to $2.14 per million British thermal units on Wednesday.