Crude Oil Prices Fall Sharply On Jump In Inventories

(RTTNews) - Crude oil prices moved notably lower during trading on Wednesday following the release of data showing a jump in stockpiles.

After edging down $0.07 to $41.45 a barrel in the previous session, crude oil for May delivery tumbled $1.66 to $39.79 a barrel.

The steep drop in oil prices came following the release of a report from the Energy Information Administration showing a much bigger than expected increase in weekly crude oil inventories.

The EIA said crude oil inventories surged up by 9.4 million barrels in the week ended March 18th, reaching historically high levels for this time of year. Economists had expected an increase of about 3.1 million barrels.

While the report also said distillate fuel inventories edged up by 0.9 million barrels last week, gasoline inventories slumped by 4.6 million barrels.