U. S. crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, climbing back above $71 a barrel in late trading, as government data showed a higher-than-expected drawdown in crude stocks last week and weak dollar also supported the crude prices.

New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas futures tracked Crude oil and rose proportionately higher than crude oil. It rose by 3.57 and 3.05 percent respectively on MCX and NYMEX.

The EIA report showed that crude inventories fell by more than expected .It fell by 3.9 million barrels against the expectation of 1.7 million barrels. Gasoline stocks showed a buildup of 3.4 million barrels against the expected figure of 0.1 drawdown in inventory.

Temperatures in key gas consuming cities New York and Chicago were seen mixed, with New York below normal for the next six days and Chicago rising back above normal, but highs were seen topping out near 80 degrees Fahrenheit in both cities, according to forecaster DTN Meteorlogix.

We saw a rise in crude prices on the back of bullish inventory but the upside was capped as the bearish gasoline inventory report dented the positive sentiments. Following the demand concerns and news of a possible enhanced output by OPEC may pressurize prices during the day. We expect crude oil to trade sideways to down during the day but the downside could be capped by weakness in dollar.