Oil prices continued to slip on Wednesday as government data showed that U.S. fuel inventories increased more than expected last week.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report on Wednesday that crude inventories fell 2.4 million barrels during the week ended Dec. 2, beating market consensus.
However, gasoline stocks rose by 3.4 million barrels, higher than market expectation of a 1.9 million-barrel gain.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, were up by 2.5 million barrels, exceeding expectations of a 1.8 million-barrel increase, according to the EIA report.
Analysts said the report was overall bearish, deepening investors' concerns about oversupply in the market.
The West Texas Intermediate for January Delivery decreased 1.16 dollars to settle at 49.77 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery erased 0.93 dollars to close at 53.00 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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