Investing.com - Crude futures fell on Wednesday on talks Libyan ports held up by armed protesters will resume oil shipments soon, which offset otherwise bullish supply data out of the U.S.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in May traded at $99.68 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 0.06%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $98.87 a barrel and a high of $99.82 a barrel.
The May contract settled down 1.81% at $99.74 a barrel on Tuesday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $98.82 a barrel, the low from March 25, and resistance at $101.96 a barrel, Monday's high.
Oil ports held by armed protestors along the Libyan coast may soon begin shipments soon, which sent oil prices falling on expectations for global supply to increase.
An eight-month standoff between protestors and the government may end within days due to an agreement between both sides.
Meanwhile in the U.S., the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels in the week ended March 28, defying expectations for an increase of 1.1 million barrels, though investors shrugged off the news.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 380.1 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decline of 1.1 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles increased by 0.6 million barrels, confounding expectations for a withdrawal of 0.1 million barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for May delivery were down 0.86%, trading at US$104.72 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$5.04 a barrel.