(VOVworld) – Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday to reach their highest settlement so far in September as US crude stockpiles decreased unexpectedly last week.

A truck driver prepares to unload unleaded and diesel fuels to storage tanks in Portsmouth, UK (photo: marketwatch)

October West Texas Intermediate crude leaped 5.7% to finish at 47.15 USD a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This is the highest settlement of US crude oil on the last month. November Brent crude on London’s market exchange climbed 4.2% to 49.75 USD a barrel.

Official data from the US Energy Information Administration showed a total US inventory drop of 2.1 million barrels for the week ended September 11 while weekly US crude production fell 18,000 barrels.