By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com -- U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell more than expected last week, the API reported Wednesday, exacerbating concerns about tight supplies just as U.S. oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, traded at $106.31 barrel on the news, after settling up 11.5% at $106.78 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories decreased by 6.1 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 24. That compared with a build of 6 million barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting a build of about 2.8 barrels.
The API data also showed that gasoline inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels last week, and distillate stocks increased by 400,000 barrels.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies increased by about 2.7 million barrels last week.