U.S. crude inventories surged by 4.3 million barrels last week, sending oil prices tumbling 3%

On Wednesday (October 27), U.
S.
oil futures fell $1.
99, or 2.
4%, to settle at $82.
66 per barrel
.
Brent oil fell $1.
82, or 2.
1 percent, to close at $84.
58 a barrel
.
Earlier EIA inventories reports showed that crude inventories rose by 4.
268 million barrels in the week ended Oct.
22, well above expectations of 2 million barrels, prompting some investors to sell long positions
.
However, oil prices rose slightly after a brief decline in refined oil inventories last week and further emptying tanks at the largest U.
S.
oil storage center
.

Gary Cunningham, head of market research at Tradition Energy, said it was profit-taking rather than other reasons that caused a reasonable correction, but the price of U.
S.
crude at $80 a barrel remained high
.

Inventories at the U.
S.
crude delivery center in Cushing, Oklahoma, have reached their lowest level in three years, and forward futures contract prices suggest supply will persist at that level for months
, according to the U.
S.
Department of Energy.
Gasoline inventories fell by 2 million barrels, to their lowest level in nearly four years, and U.
S.
consumers are grappling with rising gasoline prices
.
Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, said everyone is looking at crude oil inventory data because refiners are currently consuming Cushing oil
at an incredible rate.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said on Twitter that Iran and the European Union agreed to restart nuclear talks by the end of November, with the exact date to be announced
next week.
However, he did not say where the nuclear talks would take place or who would be present
.
As for whether the United States agrees to the new timetable, it is also unknown
.
The news extended the drop in oil prices, with traders receiving the first clear signal
in months that Iranian oil could soon return to global markets.

The Iranian nuclear talks reached an impasse in June, shortly after hardliner Ibrahim Raisi was elected president of Iran
.
While the EU has been urging Iran to return to the negotiating table, Leahy's hawkish diplomatic team has said it wants to spend more time figuring out its strategy
.
Amirabdollahian previously told a news conference in Tehran that "we don't want to start the Vienna talks when there is no hope of reaching an agreement, but we accept the format of the Vienna talks.
"
It also mentioned tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil money frozen in South Korea, Japan and other countries because of US sanctions
.
He said he expected Biden to show goodwill and release the frozen funds, but he did not link
the issue to the resumption of nuclear negotiations.

Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said that if the talks lead to an end to U.
S.
sanctions and an increase in Iranian oil exports, it could end "the threat of supply shortages, which is partly behind the surge in oil prices.
"