Crude oil futures edge lower ahead of supply data, Bernanke

Investing.com - Crude oil futures were lower on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.Traders were also jittery ahead of comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at USD95.84 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.35% on the day.New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.7% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD95.53 a barrel. Oil traders looked ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world's largest oil consumer.The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined by 0.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by a modest 0.1 million barrels.After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 0.53 million barrels last week, defying expectations for a drop of 0.36 million barrels.Gasoline stocks surged 3.1 million barrels, compared to expectations for a 0.1 million barrel increase.Investors also remained cautious ahead testimony at the U.S. Joint Economic Committee by Ben Bernanke, amid speculation over whether the U.S. central bank will begin to scale back its asset purchase program this year.The minutes of the Fed's May meeting are to be released later in the trading day.On Tuesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed should continue its bond buying and make adjustments as the economy changes.The U.S. is the world's biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand. Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery shed 0.55% to trade at USD103.32 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.48 a barrel.The gap between the contracts narrowed to the lowest level since January 2011 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.
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