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U.S. oil prices wavered between gains and losses Wednesday after a large increase in stockpiles surpassed traders' expectations.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery slid after the inventory data came out, then rebounded before falling again. The front-month contract was recently down 58 cents , or 0.7%, at $81.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange .
The amount of crude stored in the U.S. surged by 7.1 million barrels, more than double the 3.1 million barrels forecast in a Wall Street Journal survey. At 377.7 million barrels, the stockpiles are at the highest level since July 4 , signaling lower demand for crude oil.
Gasoline stockpiles remained at a nearly two-year low. Refinery capacity utilization fell to 86.7%, the lowest since March 21 .
Refineries are in the middle of maintenance season, so low utilization and big draws from the stockpiles of their products are expected, said Kyle Cooper , managing director of research at IAF Advisors , a Houston consulting firm. Oil supplies typically rise at this time of year as refineries process less oil, but this build was unexpectedly large, Mr. Cooper said.
"We sure have a lot of crude around," he said.
Brent crude also briefly dipped but has bounced back to gain 5 cents , or 0.1%, to $86.28 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Prices slumped to multiyear lows last week on concerns about high supplies. This week, traders who bet on lower prices are taking their profits, pushing prices higher, said Bob Yawger , director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc.
"We bounced from last week's pounding, and we were in the midst of that when the number came out," Mr. Yawger said.
Gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.3 million barrels to 204.4 million barrels. Analysts had predicted stockpiles would decline by 1.4 million barrels.
November reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, was recently down 1.16 cents , or 0.5%, to $2.2018 a gallon.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, rose by 1.1 million barrels to 125.7 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 1.5 million-barrel weekly decrease.
November diesel slipped 0.72 cent , or 0.3%, to $2.5060 a gallon.
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