2018.07.1815:36:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures Settle Higher Again

Crude oil futures rebounded to settle modestly higher on Wednesday, extending gains to a second successive session, as concerns over supply disruptions re-emerged on reports that Venezuela's Amuay oil refinery has shut down a distillation unit.

Earlier, oil futures had dropped to a one-month low after data from Energy Information Administration showed a larger than expected 5.8 million barrels jump in US crude inventories in the week ended July 13.

The EIA data further revealed that domestic production climbed by 100,000 barrels a day to 11 million barrels a day, the highest weekly level so far.

Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles declined by 3.2 million barrels for the week and distillate stockpiles dropped by 400,000 barrels, the EIA report showed.

Crude oil futures for August delivery ended up $0.68 or 1% at $68.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, well off the session's low of $67.04.

Oil futures for September delivery tumbled to a low of $66.32 a barrel before rallying to a high of $67.86.

Crude oil futures suffered some sharp setbacks in recent sessions amid concerns about weak demand growth due to ongoing trade war, increased supply from Saudi Arabia and talks about possible U.S. waivers on Iran oil sanctions.

On Tuesday, a report from the American Petroleum Institute showed US crude stockpiles to have unexpectedly increased by over 600,000 barrels last week.