Urgent.. U.S. oil inventories increase but less than expected.

Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed positive signs for U.S. oil inventory data for the week ending January 24, as the country's crude inventories rose less than what market expectations suggested.

U.S. oil inventories fell by 3.463 million barrels during the past week, which was below expectations that anticipated an increase of about 3.7 million barrels. This decline in U.S. oil inventories follows a drop of 1.017 million barrels recorded in the previous week.

During today's trading, following the release of the data, the prices of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures erased some of their early session losses and experienced a decline of about 0.65%, recording $73.40 per barrel, while Brent crude was trading down by about 1.68% at $76.20 per barrel.

Markets are paying close attention to U.S. oil inventory data, given its direct impact on crude oil prices. Additionally, fluctuations in petroleum product prices have notable effects on inflation rates, as well as on industries that heavily rely on crude oil.