Oil prices plunge as US inventories gain unexpectedly

Oil price plummeted Wednesday after government data showed that U.S. inventories rose unexpectedly last week.

U.S. crude supplies of last week increased 2.4 million barrels to 465.4 million, said Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Wednesday weekly report.

Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U. S. contract added 0.2 million barrels to 56.4 million barrels.

U.S. crude production gained 3,000 barrels to 9.6 million barrels a day that week. The still high-level domestic crude output dragged the market down.

A rally in the U.S. dollar also weighed on the market as stronger greenback made the dollar-priced crude more expensive and more attractive for buyers holding other currencies. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other peers, was up 0.82 percent at 96.271 in late trading.

The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate for August delivery moved down 2.51 U.S. dollars to settle at 56.96 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global benchmark, Brent crude for August delivery decreased 1.58 dollars to close at 62.01 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.