Oil prices surged Wednesday as a government report showed U.S. crude stockpiles increased less than expected.
U.S. crude supplies of last week gained 1.3 million barrels to 523.2 million barrels, 64.7 million barrels more than one year before, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its weekly report released Wednesday.
The declining output from U.S. also buoyed the market. Crude production of the country lost 10,000 to 9.068 million barrels a day last week, according to EIA. Qatari oil ministry said Wednesday that OPEC and non-OPEC producers will meet on April 17 in Doha to discuss the output freeze.
The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery moved up 2.12 U. S. dollars to settle at 38.46 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery increased 1.59 dollars to close at 40.33 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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