Oil prices increased Wednesday despite weekly government data showed U.S. crude stockpile continued to increase.
U.S. crude stockpiles increased 8.2 million barrels to 466.7 million last week, 84.2 million barrels more than a year earlier, said Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's statistical arm, on Wednesday. The build-up includes the-1.9 million-barrel increase of inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the contract.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude production reached 9.422 million barrels a day last week, the highest level since 1983.
Oil prices were boosted by the geopolitical worries of Yemen, which borders major oil producer Saudi Arabia. It is reported that Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has fled his palace in Aden as Houthi Shiite rebels advance toward the city.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery gained 1.7 U.S. dollars to settle at 49.21 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery moved up 1.37 dollars to close at 56.48 dollars a barrel.