Oil prices rallied Wednesday as official data showed a larger-than-expected drop in crude stocks. U.S. crude supplies of last week lost 4.2 million barrels to 537.1 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s weekly report released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, crude production of the country decreased 24,000 to 8.767 million barrels a day last week, according to EIA.
The U.S. dollar's weakness against other currencies also provided some upward jolts to oil prices as it makes the dollar-priced crude less expensive and more attractive for buyers holding other currencies. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.20 percent at 95.378 in late New York trading Wednesday.
The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery added 0.94 U.S. dollar to settle at 49.56 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery increased 1.13 dollars to close at 49.74 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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