NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices slumped on Wednesday, as official data showed that U.S. crude stockpiles rose for a fourth straight week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a weekly report on Wednesday that the country's crude stocks rose by 6.5 million barrels last week, well above market expectations.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell by 2 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles declined by 800,000 barrels, according to the EIA.
A stronger U.S. dollar made the dollar-priced commodity less attractive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.55 percent to 95.5746 at 3:00 p.m. (1900 GMT).
The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery dropped 2.17 U.S. dollars to settle at 69.75 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery lost 1.36 dollars to 80.05 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
