Oil reaches 7-month high on stockpiles drawdown

Crude oil futures rose further on Wednesday and reached fresh 7-month highs after data showed that US oil inventories fell more than expected last week.

West Texas Intermediate oil for July delivery climbed to a peak of $49.68 a barrel, before settling at $49.56 a barrel, up 94 cents, or 1.9% on the day on Nymex.

The US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended May 20, against expectations of a 2.5 million barrels decline. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported a supply drop of 5.2 million barrels.