New York — Oil benchmark Brent crude hit a three-month low on Wednesday after government data showed a rise in US crude inventories and oil production, which highlighted increasing global supply and concerns over weak demand. Brent crude futures fell 33c to $71.83 a barrel by 2.55pm GMT. The contract hit a session low of $71.19 a barrel, its lowest since April 17. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 45c to $67.63 a barrel. US crude stocks surprised the market and rose by 5.8-million barrels last week as oil production hit 11-million bpd for the first time ever, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. "There were some supportive factors such as further declines in Cushing, Oklahoma; crude oil inventories; continued strong refinery demand; and elevated petrol demand — but the crude oil inventory rise is the standout, making for a bearish report," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York. Oil markets have fallen over th...

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