Oil prices mixed, even after big drop in U.S. crude stocks | Reuters

Oil prices mixed, even after big drop in U.S. crude stocks | Reuters

Oil prices were trading near unchanged on Wednesday, paring gains after spiking on data showing after U.S. inventories dropped by nearly 5 million barrels and demand rose to an all-time high.

Brent crude futures gained 30 cents, or 0.3%, to $91.08 a barrel by 12:01 p.m. EST (1701 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 25 cents to $89.11 a barrel.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels last week, including a sharp drawdown at the key Cushing hub, as overall product supplied, a proxy for demand, hit a record 21.9 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, government data showed on Wednesday.

The heavy activity, and ramp-up in U.S. refinery processing, suggests the market could be looking at tight supplies for coming months as well.