Investing.com - Crude oil prices pared back gains on Wednesday after the latest U.S. storage data showed a larger than expected domestic inventory build last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in November was last at $48.77 a barrel, down from around $49.52 ahead of the report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories rose by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended October 2.
Market analysts' expected a more modest crude-stock rise of 2.2 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 461.0 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 increased by 1.9 million barrels, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.47 million barrels.
U.S. oil prices rallied on Tuesday, ending the session up 4.91% after a report from the American Petroleum Institute showing a 1.2M barrel decrease in crude stocks last week added to the view that market supply is tightening.
Crude got an additional boost after the EIA said in its monthly short-term energy outlook on Tuesday that global oil demand is expected to average 93.79 million barrels a day this year, up from 93.62 million in September.
The EIA also cut its projections for world crude production this year and in 2016.
Oil prices have tumbled in the past year, falling to the lowest levels in six years in August, as booming output in the U.S. and other oil-producing countries outstripped demand growth.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the November Brent contract was last at $52.66 a barrel, up 1.45% for the day.