Crude prices advance despite supplies rise

Crude price gained Wednesday though a government report showed that U.S. crude inventories increased last week.

Crude stockpiles added 1.4 million barrels to 367 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 8, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude, gained 420,000 barrels to 18.4 million.

U.S. refineries operated at 91.6 percent of their capacity last week, down 0.8 percentage point from the prior week, according to the EIA.

On the economic front, U.S. retail and food services sales for July were virtually unchanged from the previous month, the weakest growth since January, said the Commerce Department Wednesday. In a separate report, it said that U.S. business inventories rose 0.4 percent in June, matching market consensus.

Brent crude price got more support from the geopolitical worries. In northern Iraq, Kurdish forces fought to retake positions overrun by the Militants of the Islamic State.

U.S. military has launched targeted airstrikes on forces of the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq last week.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery moved up 22 cents to settle at 97.59 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery gained 1.26 dollars to close at 104.28 dollars a barrel.