WTI oil futures bounce as API reports smaller than expected stockpile build

Crude oil futures were trading higher on Wednesday on either side of the Atlantic following the release of data showing a slightly smaller than expected build in US stockpiles.

According to figures released by the American Petroleum Institute, over the week ending on 24 April, oil inventories in the States reportedly increased by 10.0m barrels, which was short of the 11.7m barrels predicted by analysts.

That triggered talk in markets that the scarcity of storage capacity might not be quite as acute as previously thought.

As of 1115 GMT, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in June jumped 15.1% to $14.20 a barrel on the ICE, alongside a bounce of 5.08% to $21.5 a barrel for similarly-dated Brent oil.

Weekly inventory stockpile data from the US Department of Energy was scheduled for release at 1530 GMT.