Oil prices plunged to their lowest level in nearly a month on Wednesday after data revealed that domestic crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.47, or 5.1%, to settle at $45.72 a barrel, marking its lowest finish since May 4.
On the London ICE Futures Exchange, August Brent crude, the global benchmark, shed $2.06, or 4.1%, to end trading at $48.06 a barrel, marking its lowest finish since late November.
Early Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies increased by 3.3 million barrels for the week ending June 2. The unexpected rise followed eight consecutive weeks of decline.
Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported a drop of 4.6 million barrels, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a fall of 3.5 million barrels.
Back on the New York Mercantile Exchange, July natural gas ended at $3.02 per million British thermal units, down 2.2 cents, or 0.7%.