WTI Prices Plummet on Surprise Inventory Build

US crude oil prices plummeted 3.2% to settle at $102.43 per barrel on September 16, following a surprise inventory build that caught traders off guard.

The American Petroleum Institute reported a 7.1 million-barrel increase in US crude stocks for the week ending September 11, defying analyst expectations of a drawdown.

Just a day earlier, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) had surged more than $3 on concerns about supply disruptions after a Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline.

The inventory report pushed WTI prices toward the lower end of their trading range, which had been between $102 and $105.